After years of progrs on gay rights, how did the US bee so anti-LGBTQ+? | US news | The Guardian

Contents:

• IN SOME STAT, VERSNS OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILLS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE
• NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS
• 'WHAT PARENTS ARE THEY SUPPORTG?': MOMS SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• WHAT A NATNAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD MEAN FOR TN
• AFTER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASSED, ANTI-LGBTQ 'GROOMG' RHETORIC SURGED 400% ONLE
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• DON'T LET THAT RABOW LOGO FOOL YOU: THE 9 CORPORATNS DONATED MILLNS TO ANTI-GAY POLICIANS
• GAY CULTURE HAS GROWN TOXIC WH UNCHECKED PRIVILEGE. IT'S TIME FOR TO RET
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• HOW FLORIDA TEACHERS PLAN TO AL WH 'DON'T SAY GAY' L
• AFTER YEARS OF PROGRS ON GAY RIGHTS, HOW DID THE US BEE SO ANTI-LGBTQ+?
• HOW ‘WHO R’ HAS BEE WORD ONLE FOR ‘I HATE GAY PEOPLE’
• HOW ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ AND PARENTAL RIGHTS LAWS CAN HARM STUNTS
• 'I LET YOU DOWN': DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE

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

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. 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. 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. 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.

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

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. “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.

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.

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.

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

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. "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.

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

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. Ron DeSantis signed the ntroversial "Parental Rights Edutn" bill to law this week as expected, but some opponents of the legislatn say they were taken aback by the move to sign so effect July 1, HB 1557 -- dubbed by crics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill -- bans classroom stctn on sexual orientatn or genr inty for stunts krgarten through third gra or " a manner that is not age-appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards, " acrdg to the text of the bill. “Governor Ron DeSantis signed the ‘Don't Say Gay’ bill the most wardly way possible today, ” Joe Snrs, the senr polil director of Equaly Florida, said durg a prs nference held after the signg.

WHAT A NATNAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD MEAN FOR TN

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. ” 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. “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.

AFTER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASSED, ANTI-LGBTQ 'GROOMG' RHETORIC SURGED 400% ONLE

Parents would be allowed to file a lawsu agast any public or private enty that feral funds to display or facilate ntent featurg LGBTQ an agency or anizatn vlat the rtrictns more than once a five-year perd, uld lose accs to feral funds for three years, acrdg to the bill specifilly mentns drag shows, which have been the recent target of cricism by nservative groups advotg for laws such as this prott ont of Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia's office after the passage of the Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by LGBTQ activists Miami, March 09, Raedle/Getty Imag, FILEProposed bill prompts cricismThe bill sparked immediate backlash om some LGBTQ people and activists across the untry, who say this legislatn misreprents the inti as herently sexual, shameful or assert that this kd of legislatn will silence and harm LGBTQ teachers and stunts, while stigmatizg the muny and threateng ferally fund programs on cln.

"A feral 'Don't Say Gay or Trans' bill – moled after the ntroversial discrimatory law Florida and aimg to drive LGBTQ+ fai and teachers out of the tn system – is their latt cel attempt to stigmatize and margalize the muny, not an attempt to solve actual problems but only to rile up their extremist base, " said David Stacy, the ernment affairs director of LGBTQ advocy group Human Rights Campaign. Anti-LGBTQ hate surged onle followg the passage of a Florida law that lims classroom stctn on sexual orientatn and genr inty, a new report particular surge volv rhetoric implyg that lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people are “groomg” children and clus such slurs as “groomer, ” “pedophile” and “predator” relatn to the LGBTQ muny.

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

The month after the Florida Senate passed the Parental Rights Edutn bill, or what crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, on March 8, tweets mentng the LGBTQ muny alongsi the slurs creased 406%, acrdg to the report, which was nducted by the LGBTQ advocy group Human Rights Campaign and the nonprof Center for Counterg Digal law, which took effect July 1, bans stctn about sexual orientatn and genr inty “ krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards.

DON'T LET THAT RABOW LOGO FOOL YOU: THE 9 CORPORATNS DONATED MILLNS TO ANTI-GAY POLICIANS

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.

GAY CULTURE HAS GROWN TOXIC WH UNCHECKED PRIVILEGE. IT'S TIME FOR TO RET

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.

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

”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.

HOW FLORIDA TEACHERS PLAN TO AL WH 'DON'T SAY GAY' L

Every Pri month, nsumers see their favore brands add rabow strip to their logos, fly flags om their headquarters buildgs and add attractive gay and lbian upl to their ads. All of them voted to nfirm anti-gay members of the Tmp bet, voted to ny healthre to transgenr troops, and wouldn't sponsor or -sponsor any legislatn support of LGBTQ rights.

But even though the nversatns that muted this lumn for six weeks are nowhere close to beg over, I do feel like some thgs that me up durg that time of ntemplatn are worth sayg now — particularly to my fellow whe gay cis out more stori on LGBTQ+ ins and activistsHowever, the ghost of Larry Kramer very much remaed my own head as I ma my way through a Pri month unlike any other.

I spent a few quiet afternoons readg his 1978 but novel Faggots, a satiril (yet clearly tobgraphil) look at the liv of gay men 1970s New York Cy that he wrote jt before AIDS ma him a figurehead of Amerin activism. Followg a man his late 30s (based on Kramer himself) who is seekg out a lovg, long-term relatnship a sea of hedonism, the novel has a clear msage: gay men need to start lovg each other stead of beg so obssed wh gettg fucked up and (lerally and figuratively) fuckg each other.

AFTER YEARS OF PROGRS ON GAY RIGHTS, HOW DID THE US BEE SO ANTI-LGBTQ+?

- Larry Kramer his but novelUpon publitn, Faggots was dismissed by many as puranil and self-loathg for s cricism of gay men's obssn wh vany, promiscuy and recreatnal dg e.

And while, on one level, the book is a wild (if at tim problematic) wdow to an era of gay culture 40 years the past, also felt like had a lot to say about gay culture today. In mastream gay media, the phrase almost always refers to a fairly specific subset of the LGBTQ "muny" largely ma up of whe gay cis men — even though many of the battl won around queer rights were fought by people of lour, trans and genr-nonnformg folks, and queer women, and fact the morn Pri movement self was large part iated by Black trans women. If an imprsn of a monolhic "gay culture" fed by such a homogeneo mographic exists, is bee whe gay cis men have until very recently domated mastream reprentatn unr the LGBTQ umbrella and have, general, been hand a level of privilege the last that is wildly disproportnate to any other mographic unr said umbrella.

HOW ‘WHO R’ HAS BEE WORD ONLE FOR ‘I HATE GAY PEOPLE’

When was the last time I actually had a good time at gay bar full of people I have fely spoken to on social media or apps but who act like I'm pletely sane when I se or say hello person? In analyzg the show's pictn of young gay men livg San Francis, wrer Daniel Wenger diagnos what he terms the "new gay sadns": an entire generatn of urban, privileged gay men who seem to have no clue what they're lookg for or who they are. Largely born the 1980s, they are the earlit wave of a "post-Stonewall, post-plague, post-activist" generatn of gays — "too old to have brought a boy to the prom and too young to have nursed a fantasy of nng away to an urban gay utopia, " Wenger explas.

Queeri5 pneerg LGBTQ Canadian films you n watch for ee right nowI've seen many of my fellow whe gay cis men seemgly rise to the ocsn by retweetg Black and Indigeno voic, gog to ralli and vowg to te themselv on how to tly be anti-racist (though how performative that is some s is unclear).

HOW ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ AND PARENTAL RIGHTS LAWS CAN HARM STUNTS

Rettg "gay culture" will require fightg back agast entrenched social prsur and expectatns of gay cis men — and llg them out when they perpetuate, even passively, any form of discrimatory dialogue. And was large part bee of that attu that he uld lead AIDS activists through a rpt and homophobic system to ga accs to the dgs that ma possible for our generatn to have the liv that we do. "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.

'I LET YOU DOWN': DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE

AILSA CHANG, HOST: Florida teachers are tryg to figure out how the Parental Rights and Edutn Act, which opponents ll the don't say gay bill, will affect their classrooms.