Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Is Part of a Shameful History | Time

Contents:

• FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL IS PART OF THE STATE'S LONG, SHAMEFUL HISTORY
• AM I GAY?
• HOW TIME’S REPORTG ON GAY LIFE AMERI SHAPED—AND SKEWED—A GENERATN’S ATTUS

FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL IS PART OF THE STATE'S LONG, SHAMEFUL HISTORY

Crics of what they ll the “Don’t Say Gay” bill fear that will end the teachg of LGBTQ history Florida’s public schools and expose the schools to a flood of lawsus. Disney officials have publicly opposed the new law, argug that “ uld be ed to unfairly target gay, lbian, non-bary and transgenr kds and fai, ” and lled for the urts to validate .

In tryg to unrstand why a purple state like Florida fds self the current prediment, very ltle has been said about the state’s long history as Ameri’s breedg ground for toxic anti-gay polics and how this history may have rmed the parental rights bill. Florida’s renown for homophobic attacks go back to the now-fotten Florida Legislative Invtigatns Commtee, also known as the Johns Commtee, a wch hunt rooted racism, homophobia, and anti-munism. Named after fluential state senator and former Florida ernor Charley Johns, this ignoble body spent the years of 1957 through 1963 outg, persecutg, and timidatg people spected of beg gay at Florida’s state universi.

But after that missn failed, gays and lbians beme the target. This effort culmated wh the release 1964 of the report “Homosexualy and Cizenship Florida, ” also known as “The Purple Pamphlet” bee of s lurid ntent. It noted “the extent of filtratn to agenci supported by state funds by practicg homosexuals.

AM I GAY?

Des after the Johns Commtee me Save Our Children, a 1977 anti-gay rights csa led by Ana Bryant, a untry mic sger and nner up to the Miss Ameri tle. Wily-regnized as the first anized opposn to gay rights the Uned Stat, this notor extravaganza of li, sults, and nspiracy theori about homosexuals succsfully st gay men as pedophil and predators overturng an ordance enacted by Da County banng discrimatn hog, employment and public acmodatn on the basis of sexual orientatn. Throughout the repeal mpaign Bryant routely referred to homosexuals as “human garbage, ” while cricizg the ordance “as an attempt to legimize homosexuals and their recment of our children.

HOW TIME’S REPORTG ON GAY LIFE AMERI SHAPED—AND SKEWED—A GENERATN’S ATTUS

” In ads nng Da County newspapers Bryant ntend that “the recment of our children is absolutely necsary for the survival and growth of homosexualy—for sce homosexuals nnot reproduce, they mt rec, mt hen their ranks.