‘It’s had a chillg effect’: Florida teachers anx about ‘don’t say gay’ bill | Florida | The Guardian

Contents:

• ‘IT’S HAD A CHILLG EFFECT’: FLORIDA TEACHERS ANX ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• 'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY
• CALIFORNIA TRIED TO BAN GAY TEACHERS 1978. EDUTORS AND ACTIVISTS WHO FOUGHT BACK FEAR HISTORY MAY BE REPEATG SELF.
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• FIRG OF GAY CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHER ULD TT LATT SUPREME COURT LG
• SCHOOL BOARD TERMAT TEACHER OVER DOLLY PARTON, MILEY CYS 'RABOWLAND' SONG, FOLKS STILL GAY
• YOUR THOUGHTS ON FIRG GAY TEACHERS AT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
• ‘HURTFUL AND SULTG’: FLORIDA TEACHERS REACT TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• A TEXAS TEACHER FAC LOSG HER JOB AFTER FIGHTG FOR GAY PRI SYMBOLS SCHOOL

‘IT’S HAD A CHILLG EFFECT’: FLORIDA TEACHERS ANX ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

WASHINGTON – A feral appeals urt has led that a Catholic high school Indianapolis was ee to fire a gay guidance unselor bee she performed at least some relig duti, the latt legal setback for LGBTQ+ rights when they nflict wh relign.Shelly Fzgerald had worked for 14 years as a guidance unselor at Ronlli High School when school officials disvered she was married to another woman. After about a the classroom, he was named the bt tor Kentucky September 2021 -- but at the same time, he said, a small but vol mory his ral town Montgomery County went after, who is gay, told ABC News that he was sgled out for actually protectg LGBTQ kids his school and their fai, which ma him a said that earlier this year, a muny member who was postg about him on social media also repeatedly went to unty school board meetgs to report predatn and so-lled child "groomg" -- a term that has bee popular nservative circl for allegatns of adults sexually manipulatg said this person, who had not named him at the board meetgs but repeatedly referenced him by name onle, also "doxxed" him and some of his stunts on Facebook by sharg their private, acrdg to Carver, he and some stunts' parents asked Montgomery County Supertennt Dr.

'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY

"Many crics labeled the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights Edutn bill -- which don't specifilly e the word "gay, " though broadly rtricts talk of sexualy and genr -- to law earlier this year rponse to "woke genr iology. "Joshua Block is a staff attorney wh the Natnal ACLU’s Lbian Gay Bisexual Transgenr & HIV "We need to be teachg them to read or wre, to add, to subtract, " he said -- addg that "the purpose of our schools is to te kids not to doctrate them.

"This is the exact oppose of what we need, " Kryk, a gay fifth-gra teacher outsi of Tampa, told ABC News. He intifi as gay.

CALIFORNIA TRIED TO BAN GAY TEACHERS 1978. EDUTORS AND ACTIVISTS WHO FOUGHT BACK FEAR HISTORY MAY BE REPEATG SELF.

Before the bill was passed, some Democrats unsuccsfully attempted to make more specific -- rtrictg stctn on sexual activy rather than orientatn, for though many who spoke wh ABC News said they are disappoted the law's lack of clary, some gay teachers don't see an issue wh . Pancholy's Stonewall Honor-wng novel "The Bt at It" follows 12-year-old Rahul Kapoor, who is not only figurg out his cultural inty as an Indian-Amerin but is also jt begng to realize that he might be gay. And so what's next: gay marriage?

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Michael Woods, a high school special tn teacher Palm Beach unty, Florida, wh 30 years of experience teachg and who grew up as a stunt the area who was bullied for beg gay, said he cried the night before this school year began Augt 2022 bee of anxiety related to Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill that went to effect July 2022.

“As a gay teacher, as a queer male, ’s been paful for me, ’s been very paful and very upsettg, ” said Woods. “The bills are all based on false pretens, they’re li, they’re based on li, they make assumptns that somethg is happeng our schools area, that teachers are somehow doctratg our stunts, teachg them to be gay, or whatever the se may be, ” said Andrew Spar, print of the Florida Edutn add: “I thk the biggt thg gog to the school year is the unknown, bee this bill and the other bills that are out there, give parents the abily to brg plats agast teachers, brg lawsus agast school districts, and we jt don’t know how ’s gog to play out.

”Ron DeSantis, the ernor of Florida, signg the ‘don’t say gay’ bill March 2022. A California ballot iative once sought to ban openly-gay tors the late 1970s. But recent anti-gay legislatn, like Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, has them worried once aga.

FIRG OF GAY CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHER ULD TT LATT SUPREME COURT LG

It was a simple enough goal to achieve, he figured — that is, if he kept secret an tegral part of his inty: He was gay. But amid the creasgly-hostile natnal attu toward gay rights the late 1970s, an omo wrench was thrown to Allegre's refully-laid profsnal Sen.

John Briggs, a nservative California lawmaker om Allegre's native Orange County, troduced a ballot iative 1977 to be put to a referendum the upg state electn that would bar gay men and lbian women om workg California's public schools. The proposn, did, however, brg together a dited group of gay activists and advot who waged a hard-fought opposn mpaign agast the iative, which was formally known as California Proposn path to succs was not an easy one.

SCHOOL BOARD TERMAT TEACHER OVER DOLLY PARTON, MILEY CYS 'RABOWLAND' SONG, FOLKS STILL GAY

Edutors and activists battled hatred, li, and homophobia om the nservative factn the state, sirs said.

YOUR THOUGHTS ON FIRG GAY TEACHERS AT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

"The Briggs Iniative was the first effort to rtrict gay rights through a statewi ballot measure, but would not be the last. And the bigoted aim at the heart of the iative would ntue to rear s ugly head time and time aga the succeedg years — most recently wh the troductn of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislatn that sparked natnal outcry earlier this former tors and activists who were volved the effort to feat California Prop 6 spoke to Insir about the "fight of our liv, " and the worrisome parallels they see arisg more than 40 years later.

Gay people faced homophobia at work and the worldAllegre knew early on that he was different om his peers. At 13, he remembers beg rnered the school stairwell by several boys on his basketball team who acced him of beg gay, mockg and chantg at him until he proceed to was the sort of experience that is achgly faiar to those who grew up queer: unique the specific nature of s celty, but intil tent.

In 1975 — three years before Prop 6 would be feated — Ammiano was part of a llective effort to form a gay teacher's aln San Francis. Inspired by emergg anti-gay activist Ana Bryant's overwhelmg succs repealg a Florida ordance that would have prevented discrimatn based on sexual orientatn, Briggs sponsored his own siarly-md iative, seemgly hopg might be his proposn would have allowed school boards California to fire any public school teacher, ai, admistrator, or unselor if was disvered that they had engaged "public homosexual activy" or "public homosexual nduct, " fed as homosexual behavr that was "not discreet" or "practiced private.

‘HURTFUL AND SULTG’: FLORIDA TEACHERS REACT TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

Soon after Briggs' announcement, the group was ready wh pamphlets, speakg engagements, and prs releas that refuted popular li about gay people the won support om lol church and policians, filed lawsus on the matter, and worked closely wh the teacher's unn the hop of buildg a mass movement that uld stop Briggs. "Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office the state, and Sally Gearhart, the first out lbian to obta a tenure-track faculty posn at a state universy, served as the public fac the fight agast Prop 6, publicly batg Briggs on his iative. Conservative state Senator John Briggs troduced California Prop 6 that would have allowed gay teachers to be fired.

A TEXAS TEACHER FAC LOSG HER JOB AFTER FIGHTG FOR GAY PRI SYMBOLS SCHOOL

While the profsnal activists waged a war of pamphlets and monstratns, gay and lbian teachers were fightg a more personal battle, gog door-to-door to talk about the proposn's harms.