Gay rights groups sue Florida Gov. DeSantis over so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' law : NPR

Contents:

• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS LAW MARGALIZG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE
• 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASS FLORIDA SENATE
• LGBTQ GROUPS SUE FLORIDA OVER THE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD LIM DISCSN OF SEXUALY AND GENR FLORIDA SCHOOLS

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

But Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn act — which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — has sudnly sparked a natnal war of recent weeks, lears of global rporatns, edorial boards of major newspapers and Hollywood actors have all weighed on the proposed legislatn, wh some llg “eply disturbg” and others “nonntroversial. ” Conversely, opponents say would unfairly target the LGBTQ muny — particularly gay and trans stunts — and is “pretendg to solve a problem that don’t exist. For starters, cricism that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill do not fact say “gay” anywhere s text is te.

The bill, which passed Florida’s Senate last week and the state’s Hoe of Reprentativ Febary, do, however, nta the terms “sexual orientatn” and “genr inty, ” each legal experts say that whether the bill prohibs the word “gay” self is a “distractn.

“The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ moniker is a moniker about a certa polil amg of this suatn. ”Beyond brandg, a re argument over the bill centers around whether would prohib the “stctn” or “discsn” of sexual bill’s sponsors have emphatilly stated that the bill would not prohib stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 adly attack on the Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando.

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS LAW MARGALIZG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

The Republin-domated Florida legislature passed a bill on Tuday which would forbid stctn on sexual orientatn and genr inty krgarten through third gra, rejectg a wave of cricism om Democrats that margaliz LGBTQ+ proposal, which opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, now mov to the sk of the Republin ernor, Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign to s ceptn, the measure has drawn tense opposn om LGBTQ+ advot, stunts, Democrats, the Whe Hoe and the entertament dtry, amid creased attentn on Florida as Republins ph culture war legislatn and DeSantis ascends the GOP as a potential printial ndidate.

Dozens of stunts and advot flood mtee rooms durg the early stag of the bill procs and then packed the halls of the legislature as moved toward fal passage, often wh chants of “We say gay! DeSantis has chafed at llg the proposal the “Don’t Say Gay” bill bee he said would apply to stctn on any genr inty or sexual orientatn.

Ron DeSantis signed a slate of legislatn Wednday targetg the LGBTQ muny, cludg rtrictns on transgenr health re, ntent on LGBTQ inti schools, transgenr bathroom e and drag performanc the news on the Internatnal Day agast Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, May the new laws sayFlorida state bill DB 254 will rtrict genr-affirmg healthre for transgenr people unr the age of 18, allowg the state to take temporary ctody over any child who receiv such treatment.

'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASS FLORIDA SENATE

Stephen Maturen/Getty Imag, FILEHoe Bill 1069 will expand the Parental Rights Edutn law, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by crics. ”As a gay Puerto Rin man, Moral was eply impacted by the largt attack on LGBTQ the history of the untry. “So I unrstand … why ’s been ed to portray him as some, you know, terrible homophobic person, but that’s not the se.

Ron DeSantis signed legislatn banng certa stctn about sexual orientatn and genr inty the classroom, approvg the ntroversial measure that opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

And Geia, lawmakers troduced a bill siar to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, argug the ban creat would negatively impact LGBTQ youth.

LGBTQ GROUPS SUE FLORIDA OVER THE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW

“They’re jt ntug the fear mongerg om ssn, ” says Jon Harris Mrer, public policy director for Equaly Florida, scribg 2023 legislative chang that fall squarely to the more-of-the-same-homophobic-nonsense tegory.

DeSantis support of anti-gay vio lled bad strategy, worse msage. A provisn that would extend the famo “Don’t Say Gay” provisns to middle schools. Florida needs more public officials to fd the urage to stand up to Florida’s self-signated emperor and say “Governor, for someone so foced on ‘Don’t Say Gay, ’ you sure seem to brg up a lot.

The ntroversial law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by s opponents, is set to take effect July. The platiffs Thursday’s lawsu clu Equaly Florida, an LGBTQ advocy anizatn; Fay Equaly, a New York-based nonprof; a 17-year-old sophomore Palmetto, Florida, who intifi as gay; an 18-year-old senr Osprey, Florida, who intifi as gay; the parent of a transgenr fifth-grar Florida; three same-sex upl livg Florida wh young children; and a middle-school public teacher Grand Ridge, Florida.

'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD LIM DISCSN OF SEXUALY AND GENR FLORIDA SCHOOLS

Alarmgly rtrictive laws ntue to proliferate across much of the Raedle / GettyThe red-state drive to roll back civil rights is enterg a new phase, perhaps bt symbolized by Florida’s passage this week of the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill censorg how schools discs sexual orientatn. The refal of the Walt Disney Company, one of Florida’s most powerful employers, to publicly cricize Florida’s “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill as moved through the legislature has quickly e to symbolize a retreat om the loud public opposn that many pani exprsed to earlier state iativ rtrictg civil liberti, such as the “bathroom bill” North Carola Republins approved the broad range of socially nservative iativ that Florida’s Republin ernor, Ron DeSantis, and the GOP state legislature have advanced sce 2021, bs has been “silent, silent as fuck, they are so silent, ” says Florida Democratic State Reprentative Anna Eskamani, echog a plat I heard across several stat om Democrats and civil-rights advot this week. This clus laws limg accs to abortn, rtrictg votg rights, banng transgenr girls om participatg high-school or llege sports, barrg transn medil treatment for transgenr mors, censorg how teachers n talk about current or historil racial and genr equi, removg licensg requirements to publicly rry firearms, creasg penalti for public protters, and immunizg drivers who h and jure Watch what’s happeng red statFlorida alone has passed almost every em on that list, and this week add the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill rtrictg classroom discsn of sexual orientatn.