Supporters and crics of the "Don't Say Gay" bill differ on whether would prevent the "stctn" or "discsn" of sexual orientatn or genr inty
Contents:
- IN SOME STAT, VERSNS OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILLS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE
- IT’S NOT JT FLORIDA. 15 OTHER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’-STYLE BILLS ARE CROPPG UP NATNWI
- HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
- ONIBUDO: VIRGIA’S VERY OWN “DON’T SAY GAY”
IN SOME STAT, VERSNS OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILLS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE
At least 20 stat have troduced “Don’t Say Gay” laws this year. But a handful of stat, versns of the legislatn have existed for s. * virginia don't say gay bill *
Kay Ivey signed to law Hoe Bill 322, lloquially dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, rtrictg public school teachers om discsg LGBTQ+ history or people public elementary schools.
At least 20 stat have troduced “Don’t Say Gay” laws this year, which have ma wav around the untry. READ MORE: Florida Legislature vot to strip Disney of self-ernment after opposn to ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. Sce 1992, Alabama’s tn stipulated that teachers emphasize “ a factual manner and om a public health perspective, that homosexualy is not a liftyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual nduct is a crimal offense unr the laws of the state.
IT’S NOT JT FLORIDA. 15 OTHER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’-STYLE BILLS ARE CROPPG UP NATNWI
A year ago, “Don’t Say Gay” laws that had passed the 1980s were nsired archaic, LGBTQ+ advot said, wh many of them repealed over the years. Texas lawmakers have exprsed tert pursug a “Don’t Say Gay” bill like Florida’s and Alabama’s, even though the state has had a siar regulatn on the books sce 1991.
In Texas, the state still stipulat that tnal materials for people unr the age of 18 “state that homosexual nduct is not an acceptable liftyle and is a crimal offense.
Oklahoma passed the natn’s first bill banng teachers om talkg about homosexualy an AIDS sex ed measure April 1987, and Louisana followed su that July. South Carola passed a “Don’t Say Gay” bill 1988.
HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
In total, ne stat passed laws banng schools om teachg about “homosexualy” om 1987 to 2001, when Utah adopted s versn. For example, Louisiana still has a law on the books that stat, “No sex tn urse offered the public schools of the state shall utilize any sexually explic materials pictg male or female homosexual activy.
Mississippi sex ed law requir that teachers simply teach current state law related to sexual nduct and lists “homosexualy” alongsi sensive topics such as “forcible rape, statutory rape, paterny tablishment” and “child support. Casey said the bills are relics of the AIDS crisis, when panic about homosexualy dictated school curriculum. WATCH: How Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law regulat school lsons on genr, sexual orientatn.
“Once the HIV epimic me to the picture, then a bunch of stat started nsirg and enactg laws that banned stctn on sexualy and homosexualy public tn, channelg this ‘Save Our Children’ mpaign energy and the fear and prejudice durg the HIV epimic, ” Casey said.
ONIBUDO: VIRGIA’S VERY OWN “DON’T SAY GAY”
Five stat repealed their “Don’t Say Gay” bills between 2006 and 2021, when Alabama rcd s law. Advot say part of that surprise is that “Don’t Say Gay” statut have been revived after two s. Vivian Toppg, director of advocy and civic engagement of the Equaly Feratn, a aln of state LGBTQ+ anizatns, said lol Florida anizers worked overtime to sound the alarms about their “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Advot say that the current ph for “Don’t Say Gay” bills is polil. Ron DeSantis’ cisn to ph the “Don’t Say Gay” bill Florida is ls about kids and more about the Republin’s printial ambns.