What Florida's 'Don’t Say Gay' bill actually says

Contents:

• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• "THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG
• RPONDG TO ADULT CHILD WHO SAYS HE’S GAY
• WHAT DO YOU SAY TO “THAT’S SO GAY” AND OTHER ANTI-LGBTQ COMMENTS?
• WATCH HILARY DUFF RE-CREATE HER INIC ‘THAT’S SO GAY’ ANTI-BULLYG PSA: ‘A CULTURE-DEFG MOMENT’
• ENGLISH PRONUNCIATN OF GAY
• TOP 7 WAYS TO RPOND TO “THAT’S SO GAY!”
• 5 POWERFUL THGS YOU CAN DO IF YOUR CHILD TELLS YOU, "I'M GAY."

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.

"THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG

” 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.

RPONDG TO ADULT CHILD WHO SAYS HE’S GAY

For starters, cricism that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill do not fact say “gay” anywhere s text is te. 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.

“The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ moniker is a moniker about a certa polil amg of this suatn.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO “THAT’S SO GAY” AND OTHER ANTI-LGBTQ COMMENTS?

”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. Spend any time around teens, and you’re likely to hear the mon exprsn, “That’s so gay" — even among gay kids. If you ask them about , as some rearchers have, they often will sist that is not tend as homophobic language, jt a harmls phrase to exprs tratn or somethg siar.

WATCH HILARY DUFF RE-CREATE HER INIC ‘THAT’S SO GAY’ ANTI-BULLYG PSA: ‘A CULTURE-DEFG MOMENT’

Studi reveal that 30 percent of gay adolcents stggle wh suicidal thoughts. “That’s so gay” is always pejorative, always harmful, and always homophobic. Thk about this: For thoands of years, religns have lled homosexualy an abomatn.

People still get murred if someone thks they are gay, and not jt other untri.

Gay Equals Sex.

ENGLISH PRONUNCIATN OF GAY

When most people hear the term LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual), for stance, they equate to havg adult sex. Another client’s mother once ught him lookg at gay porn, and said, horrified, “You’re not gay, are you? ” Later when the parents learned their children were gay, they apologized to them for sayg the thgs, but the damage was already done.

I heard you say whout knowg I was gay. Hearg kids sayg, “that’s so gay” every day mak the people and everythg else around them qutnable: Are thgs safe or dangero?

TOP 7 WAYS TO RPOND TO “THAT’S SO GAY!”

What, then, n be done about makg kids (and the rt of ) more aware of the harm g such phras as “That’s so gay?

5 POWERFUL THGS YOU CAN DO IF YOUR CHILD TELLS YOU, "I'M GAY."

But parents who are enough aware of language’s substrata n help by helpg their kids’ schools unrstand the value of practicg the same kd of zero tolerance for homophobic language that they do for racist or anti-Semic or bullyg language. The bt thg I have seen is the mpaign “ThkB4YouSpeak” by GLSEN (Gay, Lbian School Edutor Network). Anti-LGBT remarks such as “that’s so gay” are often untentnal and a mon part of teens’ vernacular.

Don’t be surprised if you feel shaken or pelled to qutn or exame your own beliefs on the subject of homosexualy the light of this experience. What led you to believe that you might be gay?