Do Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill vlate the First Amendment? – The Hill

Contents:

• JUDGE AGA TOSS CHALLENGE TO FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• LAWSU FILED AGAST FLORIDA'S SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW WH DAYS OF SIGNG
• THE NSTUTNAL PROBLEM WH FLORIDA’S “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• EX-FLORIDA LAWMAKER BEHD THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW PLEADS GUILTY TO COVID RELIEF D
• DO FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL VLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT?
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• 14 STAT CLAIM FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW ‘DO NOT DISCRIMATE’ AND WANT IT TO BE UPHELD
• SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW & HOW DO IT AFFECT YOU?

JUDGE AGA TOSS CHALLENGE TO FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

(AP) — For the send time more than a month, a lawsu challengg Florida’s so-lled “don’t say gay” legislatn rtrictg teachg on genr inty and sexual orientatn schools has been dismissed by a feral judge. A report released Augt by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the natn’s largt LGBTQ advocy groups, and the Center for Counterg Digal Hate said that hateful referenc to gays, lbians and other LGBTQ people surged onle after Florida’s Republin-domated legislature passed the bill.

A lawsu has been filed agast the State of Florida over the newly signed Parental Rights Edutn law, dubbed the "Don’t Say Gay" law by crics, jt three days after was signed. Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights Edutn, aka the Don't Say Gay bill, flanked by elementary school stunts durg a news nferencey, March 28, 2022, at Classil Preparatory school Shady Hills.

LAWSU FILED AGAST FLORIDA'S SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW WH DAYS OF SIGNG

"Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny attend the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Florida, March 13, 2022.

In the likely event that Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn bill — the legislatn wily known as the “Don’t Say Gay” proposal — be law, no one actually knows the full extent of the behavrs forbids.

Unr current law, the Don’t Say Gay bill isn’t jt vague, is unnstutnally vague.

THE NSTUTNAL PROBLEM WH FLORIDA’S “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL

” If Keyishian remas good law — and there is no guarantee that the US Supreme Court’s Republin supermajory will apply Keyishian fairly to an anti-LGBTQ law — then Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill do not clear this bar.

The Don’t Say Gay bill, by ntrast, would take effect on July 1 if signed — one year before requir the Edutn Department to update s standards to provi guidance on how to ply wh the bill.

The Don’t Say Gay bill also an enforcement scheme remiscent of Texas’s SB 8 abortn ban: Unr the bill, parents n brg private lawsus agast school districts that vlate the ban.

FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'

The Don’t Say Gay bill putiz the most pdish parents to enforce. Settg asi the qutn of whether any Florida teacher has actually told a stunt to wa to “pick your genr, ” the Don’t Say Gay bill do a whole lot more than simply require teachers to provi more rmatn to parents.

May a gay teacher display a picture of their spoe on their sk?

EX-FLORIDA LAWMAKER BEHD THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW PLEADS GUILTY TO COVID RELIEF D

Suppose that a third gra stunt asks a teacher who the hight-rankg openly gay official is the US ernment.

What if a book tght a high school English class has a gay character?

Or what if the book has no openly gay characters but a parent reads the book and nclus that has homoerotic unrton? As mentned above, one problem wh the Don’t Say Gay bill is that don’t fe what nstut “classroom stctn.

DO FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL VLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT?

But the Don’t Say Gay bill is likely to soon have the force of law. Havg laid out this cricism of the Don’t Say Gay bill, I want to be precise about what the Constutn do and do not allow. ) But has to offer more clary regardg what is and is not allowed than the Don’t Say Gay bill provis.

Fally, and most signifintly for the future of the Don’t Say Gay bill, an unnstutnally vague statute may be rcued if urts or other bodi wh the power to terpret a statute narrow s meang and offer addnal clary about what sort of behavr forbids. Florida’s urts, other words, might rcue the Don’t Say Gay bill om a lawsu claimg is unnstutnally vague by providg clear fns for terms like “classroom stctn” and “age appropriate” that would allow a person “of mon telligence” to terme what sort of stctn is allowed and what kd of stctn is forbidn.

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

The state Edutn Department uld potentially do so as well, when gets around to updatg s standards to expla how teachers n ply wh the Don’t Say Gay bill — although, aga, is possible that state urt judg will reject the standards and substute their own terpretatn of the Don’t Say Gay bill’s language.

14 STAT CLAIM FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW ‘DO NOT DISCRIMATE’ AND WANT IT TO BE UPHELD

In the meantime, any parent uld potentially sue their kid’s school district if a teacher even allus to the ncept of homosexualy a classroom discsn. So even if the Florida Supreme Court effectively rewr the Don’t Say Gay bill to make nstutnal, the rewrten law uld still be que awful for LGBTQ stunts and teachers. One other worrisome thg about the Don’t Say Gay bill is that there is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will enforce cisns like Keyishian that rtrict excsively vague laws, at least when enforcg those cisns would go agast many of the nservative jtic’ sense of moraly.

SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW & HOW DO IT AFFECT YOU?

It’s unclear whether the void-for-vaguens doctre will receive the same selective treatment if LGBTQ rights groups voke to challenge Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill. The bill, which some opponents have lled "Don't Say Gay, " was signed by DeSantis on Monday. The "Don't Say Gay" moniker om crics of the measure who blast this ia and sist this policy will hurt LGBTQ children.

"Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed to law, " the statement read.

A former Florida lawmaker who sponsored a bill dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by crics has plead guilty to dulently obtag COVID-19 relief funds. Crics om Democrats to LGBTQ groups took to llg the "Don't Say Gay" law and nmned Republins for chillg speech schools. Qutns have been raised as to whether Florida’s so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” bill vlat the First Amendment rights of teachers and stunts public primary schools the state.