‘Don’t Say Gay’ law brgs worry, nfn to Florida schools | PBS NewsHour

Contents:

• FLORIDA STUNTS PARTICIPATE MASSIVE WALKOUT TO PROTT THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• TEACHERS VOICE NCERNS AFTER ORANGE COUNTY PREVIEWS ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ IMPACT TO CLASSROOMSBY NICK PAPANTONIS, JUNE 27, 2022 AT 11:31 PM EDTBY NICK PAPANTONIS, JUNE 27, 2022 AT 11:31 PM EDTORANGE COUNTY, FLA. — REPRENTATIV FOR ORANGE COUNTY TEACHERS SOUND ALARM BELLS MONDAY AFTER WORD SPREAD OM PRCIPALS THAT ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WOULD IMPOSE STRICT RTRICTNS ON CLASSROOM BEHAVR AFTER FLORIDA’S NEW PARENTAL RIGHTS EDUTN LAW, A.K.A THE “DON’T SAY GAY” LAW, TOOK EFFECT.>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
• ‘HURTFUL AND SULTG’: FLORIDA TEACHERS REACT TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• ‘NO ONE FELT SAFE’: FLORIDA SCHOOLS, STUNTS FEEL EFFECTS OF SO-LLED ‘DON'T SAY GAY’ LAW
• NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS
• FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW TAK EFFECT TODAY. ITS IMPACT IS ALREADY BEG FELT
• HOW FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL TURNED STUNTS TO ACTIVISTS
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW BRGS WORRY, NFN TO FLORIDA SCHOOLS
• 'DON'T SAY GAY' CONTROVERSY: NEWSOM INV DISNEY WORKERS TO CA
• WHAT THE BILL DUBBED ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BY CRICS ACTUALLY SAYS

FLORIDA STUNTS PARTICIPATE MASSIVE WALKOUT TO PROTT THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

'Absolutely': Pete Buttigieg on whether 'Don't Say Gay' bill is dangero.

More than 500 stunts participated a massive walkout Monday at Wter Park High School Orange County, Florida, prott of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill currently beg nsired by the state Senate, acrdg to walkout anizer and high school stunt Will Larks. LGBTQ advot say the measure would lead to further stigmatizatn of gay, lbian and transgenr children, g more bullyg and suicis wh an already margalized muny. Durg the walkout, stunts were chantg, “We say gay!

TEACHERS VOICE NCERNS AFTER ORANGE COUNTY PREVIEWS ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ IMPACT TO CLASSROOMSBY NICK PAPANTONIS, JUNE 27, 2022 AT 11:31 PM EDTBY NICK PAPANTONIS, JUNE 27, 2022 AT 11:31 PM EDTORANGE COUNTY, FLA. — REPRENTATIV FOR ORANGE COUNTY TEACHERS SOUND ALARM BELLS MONDAY AFTER WORD SPREAD OM PRCIPALS THAT ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WOULD IMPOSE STRICT RTRICTNS ON CLASSROOM BEHAVR AFTER FLORIDA’S NEW PARENTAL RIGHTS EDUTN LAW, A.K.A THE “DON’T SAY GAY” LAW, TOOK EFFECT.>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

A the “Don’t Say Gay” law, took effect. Elementary-level teachers reported beg disuraged om puttg pictur of their same-sex spoe on their sk or talkg about them to LGBTQ activists speak out on ntroversial ‘don’t say gay’ bill Tallahassee“Safe Space” stickers aimed at LGBTQ stunts may have to be removed om doors, teachers will have to report to parents if a stunt “ out” to them and they mt e pronouns assigned at birth, regardls of what the parents allow, the CTA of the measur appeared to be far outsi what the law actually forbids, as foc primarily on mental health monorg and classroom curriculums. He’s ncerned Florida’s recent ntroversial “don’t say gay” bill is dangero, hateful legislatn that pos many risks to LGBTQ youth the state.

‘HURTFUL AND SULTG’: FLORIDA TEACHERS REACT TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

“Don’t say gay” also grants parents the right to sue for damag and attorney fe if a school district don’t rolve their plat about a child’s tn, which sentially forbids discsn of LGBTQ issu or inti. ”McCracken characterized the bill and py-t legislative efforts spreadg other parts of the US as part of a war on gay cvil rights igned by Republins and is eply ncerned about the negative impacts of the bill on stunts and teachers. “As a gay man, I fd both hurtful and sultg.

It’s hurtful, bee I don’t believe there’s anythg appropriate about my life as a gay man, ” he said.

I believe that I’m a good teacher and have posively impacted stunts and that me beg gay not only hasn’t been trimental to their learng, but has probably been helpful for a lot of people – not only LGBTQ+ stunts, but other stunts as well who see that I’m willg to live my life openly and that I believe everyone should be able to live their life wh digny and rpect and we should be treatg each other like fellow humans. Florida Republin state senator Dennis Baxley, a sponsor of the bill, remarks on the state senate floor, ma claims of a big uptick the number of children g out as gay and amed the bill as a rponse to that. “This bill, for me, is a sign of pure hatred, ” said Javier Gomez, a high school senr at iPrep Amy Miami, Florida, and print of his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club.

‘NO ONE FELT SAFE’: FLORIDA SCHOOLS, STUNTS FEEL EFFECTS OF SO-LLED ‘DON'T SAY GAY’ LAW

I knew that I was gay at five years old. We’re beg left fensels whout the support we need and we are ntug to face homophobia om our ernment.

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

”Proponents of the “don’t say gay” legislatn are manufacturg smear mpaigns support of expandg the bills to other stat, cludg claims that Disney is attemptg to “sexualize our children” as part of a progrsive LGBTQ agenda. The accatns have been promoted by Chris Rufo, a rightwg thktank fellow who leaked vios of Disney executiv, claimg Disney has a “not so secret gay agenda” is jt a few weeks after Disney faced cricism om employe and the LGBTQ muny for refg to make a statement opposn to Florida’s don’t say gay bill.

Rufo prevly worked as a fellow for the Claremont Instute, which has a troublg rerd of anti-gay polics and phg for nversn “therapy”.

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

“I’m gay too so this hs me doubly hard, ” said Jean Eckhoff, a history teacher of middle school and high school stunts Live Oak, Florida, for 17 years. Proponents of the bills are flamg homophobic hate and chippg away at civil rights of the LGBTQ muny unr the guise of helpg stunts and parents. The monstratn at Palm Harbor Universy High was part of a movement across Florida, led by queer stunts prottg a bill they and other crics ll “Don’t Say Gay.

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

He didn’t thk he’d get sp on or lled homophobic slurs. He didn’t thk a stunt would pull out a Tmp 2020 flag alongsi the gay and transgenr pri flags, or that someone would yell, “Kill ‘em all” over and that day early March, Weste experienced the first nsequenc of a bill that crics warned would lead to censorship of LGBTQ voic and emboln some to harass queer stunts, teachers, admistrators and their alli.

And while the bill targeted stctn younger gras, left tchall language that gay rights advot worried would be ed to ntrol classrooms up through high school. Lawmaker bate:Florida Legislature pass 'Don't Say Gay' bill, sends to Gov. DeSantis lls out Leon County as he signs what opponents ll 'Don't Say Gay' billHistoril ntext:Historians draw parallels between 'Don't Say Gay' legislatn and purge of gay teachers s ago‘Worst ’s ever been’:Culture wars got personal this legislative ssnThe bill wasn't ced as the reason for actn every se, but LGBTQ advot say the legislatn and s surroundg rhetoric has created a hostile environment ripe for the typ of attacks — even before the bill be law on Friday, along wh a slate of new laws cludg two more that target school curriculum.

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

" However, bill supporters have e unr fire for g gay stereotyp and doctratn schools to fend s March, Gov. Democratic legislators sought to clarify the bill's language and tent, but Republin lawmakers rejected a swath of bill’s Senate sponsor, Dennis Baxley, R-Ola, said durg bate that he was aimg to curb what he saw as doctratn schools — another false narrative ed by Florida lawmakers s ago the 1950s to out and fire gay and lbian teachers and llege profsors. Petocz, who is gay, was spend after givg out more than 200 Pri flags at his rally.

'Curly Hair':Pe View class print phemism for gay graduatn speechA uple months after the protts, Zanr Moricz, the first openly gay class print at Sarasota County’s Peview School, was told he uldn’t mentn his queer activism durg his graduatn speech. Petersburg two s ago after hearg that was an up-and-g gay-iendly cy.

He's pecially ncerned for transgenr stunts like him, who are facg threats to their accs to genr-affirmg healthre and are left out of mpaigns like Don’t Say Gay, which refer to sexual orientatn but not genr inty. 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.

FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED '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. "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.

FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW TAK EFFECT TODAY. ITS IMPACT IS ALREADY BEG FELT

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. 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.

HOW FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL TURNED STUNTS TO ACTIVISTS

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. ” 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.

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW BRGS WORRY, NFN TO FLORIDA SCHOOLS

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

'DON'T SAY GAY' CONTROVERSY: NEWSOM INV DISNEY WORKERS TO CA

”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 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.

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

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. The bill, which some opponents have lled "Don't Say Gay, " was signed by DeSantis on Monday.