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.

AM I GAY?

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.

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

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.