In some stat, versns of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills have been around for awhile | PBS NewsHour

Contents:

• NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS
• SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' L EXPAND THROUGH 12TH GRA FLORIDA
• WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?
• FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• IN SOME STAT, VERSNS OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILLS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• WHAT'S THE SO-LLED DON'T SAY GAY BILL THAT ULD IMPACT THE WHOLE UNTRY
• WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ AND YOUNG PEOPLE
• WHAT THE BILL DUBBED ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BY CRICS ACTUALLY SAYS
• 'WHAT PARENTS ARE THEY SUPPORTG?': MOMS SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• STRICTLY LEGAL: SU OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL FAILS

NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS

Across the Uned Stat, at least a dozen stat are nsirg new legislatn that several ways will mirror Florida's new ntroversial law, referred to by some opponents as "Don't Say Gay. "The stutnalizatn of the bills is an overt form of stctural transphobia and homophobia, and go agast all public health evince creatg a safe and supportive environment for transgenr, nonbary, queer, gay and lbian youths and teachers to thrive, " Arjee Rtar, assistant profsor of epimlogy at the Universy of Washgton, told NPR. Rtar, a social epimlogist and health equy advote, said the ntroversial bills will lim all youths to live to their fullt potential, addg "there should be no room for transphobia and homophobia — pecially the classroom.

" Tennsee's HB 800 bans books and stctnal materials "that promote, normalize, support, or addrs lbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgenr issu or liftyle. Two years after Arizona lawmakers repealed a law barrg any stctn on HIV or AIDS that that "promot a homosexual liftyle, " they are close to enactg a broad remake of the state's sex tn laws wh a particular foc on LGBTQ issu.

SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' L EXPAND THROUGH 12TH GRA FLORIDA

"Florida may be the first this wave, but there have been other laws the past that were lled 'no promo homo' laws, which forbid sayg posive thgs about lbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people classrooms, " Simmons told NPR. New York Cy is lnchg a digal billboard mpaign, supportg LGBTQ visibily that will be displayed five major markets Florida for eight weeks, to lure Floridians unhappy wh their state's "Don't Say Gay" law to the Big Apple, Adams announced.

It looks like this le would make impossible to do much stctn at all, " Lra McGnis, of the LGBTQ advocy group PFLAG, prevly told ABC law was dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by crics for aimg to rtrict curriculum that clus history, lerature and more that touch on LGBTQ inti. Today, we have an analysis of a piece of tn legislatn Florida that crics have referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” we have news of our own: We’re makg some chang to the Edutn Briefg. See below for Asenc-Rhe/Tampa Bay Tim, via Associated PrsA close read of ‘Don’t Say Gay’Gov.

WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?

Ron DeSantis of Florida is expected to sign Hoe Bill 1557, a proposed law that supporters ll the “Parental Rights Edutn” bill and opponents refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” lleague Dana Goldste has done a close readg of the bill self, which is about much more than gay rights. Sentence has earned the bill the “Don’t Say Gay” nickname:L 97-101: Classroom stctn by school personnel or third parti on sexual orientatn or genr inty may not occur krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state impact is clear enough: Instctn on genr and sexualy would be nstraed all gras. That uld disurage a teacher om speakg about gay fai wh the whole class, even if some stunts have gay bill also targets mental health and unselg servic — a place where stunts often have difficult nversatns about genr inty and sexualy, pecially if they stggle to talk about those nversatns at as Florida revis s school unselg standards, adopted 2010, which affirm genr and sexual diversy unselg.

FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

But crics nicknamed HB 1557 the “don’t say gay” bill, warng isn’t necsary and mak some stunts feel unsafe by sglg out LGBTQ material as dangero and appropriate. Dennis Baxley (R-Ola) the bill’s Senate sponsor who said he was addrsg “social engeerg” that uld rult more children intifyg as gay or transgenr. ” The guidance clus fns of terms related to sexual orientatn and genr inty — cludg gay, lbian and transgenr — that teachers are enuraged to e when applible.

IN SOME STAT, VERSNS OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILLS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE

” The word ‘gay’ People on Facebook and Twter have said that Florida Republins want to ban the word “gay” school. “GOP’s 2022 platform: Ban books, Ban abortn, Ban Black history, Ban transgenr teens, Ban sayg ‘gay’ and Ban votg, ” said Dean Obeidallah, a left-leang rad host and edian, on March 11. ’” On SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment, anchor Col Jost told st member Kate McKnon, who is gay, that the bill “means that you n’t acknowledge that ‘gay’ exists at all.

” McKnon then slammed the legislatn, sayg, “I am eply gay — sorry, eply ncerned. It jt seems like this is gog to make kids gay and trans — sorry, prsed and suicidal.

” The claims n largely be attributed to the legislatn’s “don’t say gay” nickname, ed by Equaly Florida.

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

The legislatn do not lerally prohib Floridians om sayg the word “gay, ” but do prohib “classroom discsn about sexual orientatn or genr inty. 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.

WHAT'S THE SO-LLED DON'T SAY GAY BILL THAT ULD IMPACT THE WHOLE UNTRY

READ MORE: Florida Legislature vot to strip Disney of self-ernment after opposn to ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ AND YOUNG PEOPLE

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. 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.

WHAT THE BILL DUBBED ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BY CRICS ACTUALLY SAYS

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.

'WHAT PARENTS ARE THEY SUPPORTG?': MOMS SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW

South Carola passed a “Don’t Say Gay” bill 1988. 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. Five stat repealed their “Don’t Say Gay” bills between 2006 and 2021, when Alabama rcd s law.

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

Advot say part of that surprise is that “Don’t Say Gay” statut have been revived after two s.

STRICTLY LEGAL: SU OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL FAILS

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.