Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill is unnstutnal - Vox

Contents:

• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS LAW MARGALIZG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE
• FLORIDA HOE PASS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS NTROVERSIAL LGBTQ SCHOOL MEASURE
• DESANTIS-BACKED 'DONT SAY GAY' BILL SPARKS OUTRAGE
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH MAXEN OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED MALE PRO SPORTS LEAGU
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• FLORIDA'S NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL: WHAT'S SI THE PROPOSED LAW
• FLORIDA ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL TO LAW
• OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA’S TOP 10 GAY BEACH
• FLORIDA ADVANC "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL THAT WOULD BAR LGBTQ DISCSNS SCHOOLS
• FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS
• THE NSTUTNAL PROBLEM WH FLORIDA’S “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL
• WHAT IS THE FLORIDA LAW CRICS HAVE DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'?
• PROTTS NTUE AGAST FLORIDA 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

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. 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.

”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. 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.

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

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. ” Although many big rporatns touted their mment to Black History Month Febary, he not, they “are not willg to put their hand on the sle to stop the removal of Mart Luther Kg and Rosa Parks om our public schools” or to stand up unequivolly for votg rporate rponse was even more muted to the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” legislatn Florida passed Tuday.

AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS

Disney’s reticence on the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill ntrasted wh s activist role agast other nservative legislatn unr s former chairman and CEO Robert Iger.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

”Bin also tweeted stern opposn to Florida’s “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill, and when passed on Tuday, Edutn Secretary Miguel Cardona issued a stronger statement of nmnatn than he’s offered on any of the earlier state-level bills targetg curriculum.

As Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law — or what crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law — go to effect Friday, some of the state’s public school districts have begun rollg out new polici to lim LGBTQ issu and inti om beg discsed the Tuday night, the Leon County School Board unanimoly approved s “LGBTQ Inclive School Gui, ” which clus a provisn to alert parents if a stunt who is “open about their genr inty” is their child’s physil tn class or wh them on an overnight school trip. Clifford / AP fileThe so-lled Don’t Say Gay law, HB 1557, bans “stctn” about sexual orientatn or genr inty “ krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards.

” A provisn the law also requir school staff members to alert parents about “cril cisns affectg a stunt’s mental, emotnal, or physil health or well-beg, ” which many advot have terpreted as a way to force tors to out their gay or trans stunts. They have also ntend that will not prohib teachers and stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 attack at the Pulse gay nightclub crics and legal experts have said the broad language of the law uld open school districts and teachers to lawsus om parents who believe any nversatn about LGBTQ people or issu is “not age appropriate.

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

Carlos Smh, a Democrat who is gay and has been an outspoken cric of the new law, said he was “not surprised” that schools the state were announcg the polici and guil. “What’s happeng right now — wh the censorship of rabow flags and school districts preparg to basilly ph LGBTQ stunts and teachers to the closet — is exactly what we said would happen wh the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. "Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny at the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Fla., on March 13.

FLORIDA HOE PASS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Imag fileFive other stat — all of them the South — have enacted laws that lim stctn or discsns about LGBTQ people or issu school, and at least 32 others have proposed such measur this year, acrdg to acrdg to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ thk tank that has been trackg the strsed that the polici will have nsequenc for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer stunts, potg to the disproportnately high rat of suici attempts among the untry’s LGBTQ youths. ”In Palm Beach County, Woods, who is gay, said that after they received the qutnnaire om school officials to flag urse material or books wh LGBTQ referenc, many of his lleagu are nervo they’ll be reprimand if they miss somethg.

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn. Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report.

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS NTROVERSIAL LGBTQ SCHOOL MEASURE

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.

Febary 24, 2022, 3:39 PMThe Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by LGBTQ activists, has been passed by the Florida Hoe of Reprentativ.

The measure, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by s opponents, was passed by the state Hoe last month and now heads to Republin Gov.

DESANTIS-BACKED 'DONT SAY GAY' BILL SPARKS OUTRAGE

Parents n sue school districts for alleged a tearful addrs to the Senate on Monday, Democrat Shevr Jon, the first openly gay Florida state senator, urged his lleagu to narrow the bill’s language to say stctn should not be “tend to change a stunt’s sexual orientatn or genr inty. ”“I ask that you open up your hearts jt a tad b, ” he said, notg the name-llg and shunng he had faced as a gay man. A Florida bill that would lim classroom discsns on sexual orientatn and genr inty and enurage parents to sue schools or teachers that engage the topics ntu to move through the state Hoe and 's beg lled a "Don't Say Gay" bill by LGBTQ advot, who fear that if this bill is signed to law, uld act as a plete ban on the lsons on LGBTQ opprsn, history and discsns about LGBTQ amendment to the bill was proposed Friday that also would require school officials to disclose a stunt's sexual or genr inty to their parents wh six weeks of fdg out about the stunt's inty.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH MAXEN OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED MALE PRO SPORTS LEAGU

Ron DeSantis and the state legislature for the efforts last month a Twter advocy anizatns say the bills are remiscent of the “no promo homo” laws of the 1990s that barred tors om discsg queer topics schools, but wh an add mandate on parent and fay volvement.

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

Meanwhile, bate ntu on this legislatn and what would mean for schools, teachers, stunts and bill n be read full do the 'Don't Say Gay' legislatn exactly say? Defg those terms, cludg "heterosexualy, homosexualy or bisexualy" and "genr-related inty, appearance or behavr, " uld clear up what the bill would ban, she said. Florida Hoe Republins advanced a bill, dubbed by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, to forbid discsns of sexual orientatn and genr inty schools.

FLORIDA'S NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL: WHAT'S SI THE PROPOSED LAW

Danny Burgs also later add that the standard unrstandg of the terms is what the law would activists ll "Don't Say Gay"? However, the bill's nickname om activists has bee "Don't Say Gay" and "Don't Say Trans" bee advot have said they believe would make LGBTQ people taboo once aga classrooms, settg back the progrs ma by the LGBTQ muny the last few advocy anizatns say the bills are remiscent of the "no promo homo" laws of the 1990s that barred tors om discsg LGBTQ topics school classrooms.

The march was held to prott Florida's "Don't Say Gay" Wt/The News-Prs via USA Today NetworkAt least four stat still have such laws on the books, cludg Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma. "One of the differenc between the bills and some of the 'no promo homo' laws that passed the 1990s is the heavy-hand mandate on parent and fay volvement, " Melanie Willgham-Jaggers, the executive director of LGBTQ advocy group GLSEN, told ABC add: "We've learned that the prence of even one supportive adult mak all the difference.

Opposn Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists have lobbied agast the "Don't Say Gay" law, which will affect kids krgarten through third gra. Ron DeSantis has signed the Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by bill bans classroom stctn on sexual orientatn or genr inty krgarten through third gra and stat that any stctn on those topics nnot occur " a manner that is not age-appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards, " acrdg to the legislatn, HB 1557. Hillsborough High School stunts prott a Republin-backed bill dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" that would prohib classroom discsn of sexual orientatn and genr inty, a measure Democrats nounced as beg anti-LGBTQ, Tampa, Fla., March 3, 2022.

FLORIDA ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL TO LAW

Make no mistake, by signg the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, Ron DeSantis is takg the si of hatred, bullyg and discrimatn and sendg a clear msage to children Florida that he don’t re about them or their fai if he n e their pa to sre polil pots wh his base, " Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz said. As a state that is renowned for s goln beach and predomantly open attu, as no surprise that Florida offers some of the ft gay beach the USA. Offerg plenty of gay bars, clubs, and LGBTQ-themed rtrants, this sunny, astal town ntu to draw a gay crowd throughout the year.

Sebastian Street Beach is the most popular gay beach Fort Lrdale, and is posned wh close proximy to the town centre and lol gayborhood. Strewn wh rabow flags, umbrella rentals and lounge chairs, this is a great spot to put your feet up and people-watch the gay sunbathers. Key Wt has long been a popular gay and lbian statn thanks to s vg ‘e as you are’ attu, and s enarg motto om lols “close to perfect, far om normal.

OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA’S TOP 10 GAY BEACH

” Along wh Smather’s Beach, the eastern end of nearby Duval Street offers var gay-iendly rtrants and bars, cludg the popular Bourbon Street Pub - a legendary gay hotspot. This is the only legal clothg-optnal beach Miami, and regularly wel gay beach-goers throughout the year.

Loted below the meetg pot of 12th Street and Ocean Drive, this gay beach is led wh lourful rabow flags and is Miami’s most popular gay beach. Jt across the street om 12th Street Beach, you’ll fd the Palace Rtrant and Bar, which is an inic gay-iendly tablishment, servg plenty of food and beverage optns certa to satisfy your tastebuds. Consired the bt gay beach Sarasota, this long stretch of sand is also flanked by towerg dun and the North Lido County Park.

FLORIDA ADVANC "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL THAT WOULD BAR LGBTQ DISCSNS SCHOOLS

Whether is your thg or not, the area is also known for the odd b of gay cisg on and around the beach - we’ll let you ci once you’re there. The most popular gay beach Miami is mostly a hangout for men, but you’ll also fd lbians and straights soakg up the sun wh lols. It’s across the street om the Palace Rtrant & Bar, a gay hangout that has been welg sunbathers for the past 25 years.

At 2½ long, Smathers is big pared to other beach on this ty island of Key Wt, one of the natn’s top statns for gay travelers.

The most popular gay beach  Fort Lrdale is across the street om the Rz-Carlton and wh blocks of some of the cy’s gay rorts and gutho. Pete Beach, the breathtakg, stic North Beach area of this unty park has a northern expanse near the end of the island where gays and lbians ngregate. There’s an unofficial gay meet-up at Guana’s first beach accs pot, reached by a boardwalk that wds down a 40-foot-tall dune system to a priste stretch of seclud sand.

FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS

Pensala Beach cy near the Alabama borr may not seem like the most gay-iendly spot, but ’s been a beach getaway for LGBTQ folks om the South for a long time, particularly for Gay Memorial Day Weekend, which started rmally the 1980s and has grown to a huge gatherg, drawg thoands to late-night circu parti wh well-known profsnal DJs and rmal tent parti on the beach. About 20 mut north of South Beach, Hlover Park Beach is one of the bt-known clothg-optnal beach Florida and ’s gay-iendly.

Only the north part of the 1½-e priste, whe stretch of sand at this gay beach the Miami area is legated for urban nu sunbathers. Stonewall Beach, a swath of sand near the Pompano Beach pier, was unoffilly named by lol gay rints on the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, a seri of spontaneo monstratns followg police raids New York's Greewich Village 1969. The state's Senate and Hoe have proposed the Parental Rights Edutn bills — monly referred to the "Don't Say Gay" bills by crics — which would apply to such topics primary gra levels, as well as s where the discsns are emed "not age-appropriate.

" Ock, the print of her schools' Gay-Straight Alliance, said she first me out as lbian when she was 11 years old, and that havg support om her seventh gra English teacher at that time helped her bee more vol and open about her inty. A 2019 survey om The Gay, Lbian and Straight Edutn Network (GLSEN) found that the school climate Florida is "not safe" for most LGBTQ stunts as is. Supporters gather for a Safe Schools South Florida & Friends rally to ph back agast the so-lled "Don't Say Gay" bill (HB 1557/SB 1834) at the Pri Center Wilton Manors on Feb.

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

"It will stop teachers and schools om talkg to kids about LGBTQ issu and will stop them om talkg about gay issu among themselv.

The Florida Senate passed the ntroversial so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” bill on Tuday, sendg the Republin-backed legislatn banng LGBTQ stctn primary schools to Gov.

The proposed law, often referred to by crics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, bans public school districts om teachg about sexual orientatn or genr inty krgarten through the third gra, or “ a manner that is not age-appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts”—language that crics say uld extend the ban to higher gra levels. ” Read more: Kid of the Year Falist Kai Shappley, 11, Tak on Lawmakers Her Fight for Trans Rights What impact uld the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have? Shevr Jon, Florida’s first openly gay Florida state senator, who told the legislative body: “To those who thk you n legislate gay people away, I’m sorry.

WHAT IS THE FLORIDA LAW CRICS HAVE DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'?

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

PROTTS NTUE AGAST FLORIDA 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

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. 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. 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.