Florida expands 'Don't Say Gay'; Hoe OKs anti-LGBTQ bills | AP News

Contents:

• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL BE LAW FLORIDA, BANNG SEXUAL ORIENTATN STCTN OM K-3
• FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS
• FLORIDA'S NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL: WHAT'S SI THE PROPOSED LAW
• AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS
• FLORIDA ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL TO LAW
• FLORIDA EXPANDS ‘DON’T SAY GAY'; HOE OKS ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS
• DESANTIS-BACKED 'DONT SAY GAY' BILL SPARKS OUTRAGE
• 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASS FLORIDA SENATE
• FLORIDA HOE PASS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS NTROVERSIAL LGBTQ SCHOOL MEASURE
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• FLORIDA BOARD APPROV EXPANSN OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BAN TO ALL SCHOOL GRAS

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. 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.

”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. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that forbids stctn on sexual orientatn and genr inty krgarten through Gra 3, a policy that has drawn tense natnal scty om crics who argue margaliz LGBTQ legislatn has phed Florida and DeSantis, an ascendg Republin and potential 2024 printial ndidate, to the foreont of the untry's culture wars, wh LGBTQ advot, stunts, Democrats, the entertament dtry and the Whe Hoe nouncg what crics have lled the "Don't Say Gay" bill. Florida stunts staged walkouts and packed to mtee rooms and statehoe halls to prott the measure, often wh boomg chants of "We say gay!

'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL BE LAW FLORIDA, BANNG SEXUAL ORIENTATN STCTN OM K-3

"Throughout bate the Republin-ntrolled statehoe, Democrats have said the bill's language — particularly the phras "classroom stctn" and "age appropriate" — uld be terpreted so broadly that discsn any gra uld trigger lawsus and create a classroom atmosphere where teachers would avoid the subjects Disney workers walk off the job over pany's rponse to Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill"The bill's tentnally vague language leav teachers aaid to talk to their stunts and opens up school districts to stly and ivolo ligatn om those seekg to exclu LGBTQ people om any gra level, " said state Rep. Smh, a Democrat who is gay. "Even worse, #DontSayGay sends a hateful msage to our most vulnerable youth who simply need our support.

Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill part of Republin drive to lim talk of sex and race U.

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?

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

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. Florida's Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by LGBTQ activists, is on Gov. 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.

Danny Burgs also later add that the standard unrstandg of the terms is what the law would activists ll "Don't Say Gay"?

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

Durg the Senate bate, Baxley slammed the nickname bee the bill do not have the word "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. A sign was ed a "Don't Say Gay" prott downtown Fort Myers, March 6, 2022.

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

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. Jon is the first openly gay man the Florida Senate.

Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny attend the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami, March 13, 2022. "This bill is not tend to out gay children. Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny attend the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami, on March 13, 2022.

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

Opposn Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists have lobbied agast the "Don't Say Gay" law, which will affect kids krgarten through third gra. 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. 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.

FLORIDA EXPANDS ‘DON’T SAY GAY'; HOE OKS ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS

"Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny at the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Fla., on March 13. 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.

DESANTIS-BACKED 'DONT SAY GAY' BILL SPARKS OUTRAGE

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.

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. Ron DeSantis add more ws to his agenda targetg the LGBTQ+ muny as a state board approved an expansn of what crics ll the “Don’t Say Gay” law Wednday, and the Hoe passed bills on genr-transn treatments, bathroom e and keepg children out of drag Board of Edutn approved a ban on classroom stctn about sexual orientatn and genr inty all gras, expandg the law that bans those lson up to gra 3 at the requt of DeSantis as he gears up for an expected printial le change would ban lsons on sexual orientatn and genr inty om gras 4-12, unls required by existg state standards or as part of reproductive health stctn that stunts n choose not to take.

'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASS FLORIDA SENATE

The entertament giant publicly opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” legislatn last year, and, as punishment, DeSantis phed lawmakers to give him ntrol of a self-erng district that Disney overse s theme park a set of new DeSantis appote uld assume ntrol of the district, Disney’s board passed rtrictive venants that strip the g members of most of their powers, bluntg the ernor’s retaliatn. Opponents, however, have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, argug the ban creat would negatively impact an already margalized muny.

Shevr Jon, who brought some senators to tears as he spoke about his experience as a gay Floridian. Her ments harken back to bunked arguments ed by anti-gay activists recent history to smear and margalize members of the LGBTQ muny. 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.

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

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. The Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by LGBTQ activists, has now been passed by both the Florida Senate and Hoe. Two of the most proment bills are one Florida rtrictg classroom discsn of genr and sexualy, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, and a bathroom bill Alabama that was amend to clu s own tn rtrictns.

Sam Am, director of advocy and ernment affairs at LGBTQ+ suici preventn anizatn the Trevor Project, is particularly worried about Alabama’s bathroom bill, which clus an amendment seemgly styled after Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. Across the state le, Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill outright bans classroom stctn on sexual orientatn or genr inty krgarten through third gra — but LGBTQ+ advocy groups have terpreted the fe prt of the bill to also rtrict that stctn gras four through 12.

A jury trial for Equaly Florida and the Natnal Center for Lbian Rights’ lawsu agast the state over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill is currently set for Febary 13 next year. Equaly Florida argu that the ripple effect of this legislatn has already expand beyond the classroom: A Florida high school class print was prevented om talkg about his experience as a gay stunt May, and some Florida teachers have reported beg told to take down Pri flags (a trend that surfaced last year among teachers other stat as well).

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

Ana Carson, a former sixth-gra science teacher Florida, told reporters on a Friday prs ll hosted by Equaly Florida that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill is one reason she rigned om teachg about a month ago — after spendg 12 years the profsn.

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

Conversatns around tn have grown “creasgly toxic” the state, she said, potg to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and the “Stop Woke Act” — a law settg boundari on discsns of race that also went to effect on Friday.

FLORIDA BOARD APPROV EXPANSN OF ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BAN TO ALL SCHOOL GRAS

Ron DeSantis signed legislatn banng certa stctn about sexual orientatn and genr inty the classroom, approvg the ntroversial measure that opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law. And Geia, lawmakers troduced a bill siar to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, argug the ban creat would negatively impact LGBTQ youth. 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.