Originally Written: September 25th, 2022 By Natasha Antoniuk
Nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its opponents and the “Parental Rights in Education” bill by its supporters, Florida’s House Bill 1557 was signed by Ron DeSantis on March 28, 2022, targeting already an already at-risk LGBTQ community. In an age where more attention is being brought to the rights of LGBTQ+ people, House Bill 1557 faced public outlash from those around the country – and even many outside the country – even before it had been officially passed and put into effect. Many worry that the bill, which uses vague wording, will not only limit the learning of young children about those in gender, sexuality, and other LGBTQ minorities, but also older students. The bill states that “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” The wording of the last part - “that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate” - is where many problems arise. Because of its wording, this sentence alone greatly limits the topics that teachers may speak about in their classrooms, since the state may deem any topic encompassed within the LGBTQ+ community as “inappropriate” without proper wording, which is a clearly intentional outcome. This vagueness also means that teachers, as a result, are concerned about teaching about topics related to the LGBTQ community, since they may be reported by parents or students and may be fired as a result of their content being deemed “inappropriate”.1 This may even affect little parts of school, such as whether or not a teacher would be comfortable allowing a child to show a picture of their family if they had LGBTQ+ parents, since a teacher could in theory possibly be sued for this. [2] The passing of House Bill 1557 means that the LGBTQ community is being further marginalized and villainized. Telling students at an early age to students that the LGBTQ community and related topics are “inappropriate” for the school room implies to young children – and older children – that being LGBTQ+ is shameful and not natural.3 This will inevitably affect the mindsets that children will grow up with, taking away a possible safe space that would have helped the mental health of already at-risk LGBTQ children and teens, who are at a substantially higher risk of suicide already.4 Furthermore, Florida’s Governor DeSantis’ spokesperson Christina Pushaw nicknamed the bill the “anti-groomer bill” on Twitter, calling all those that opposed the bill either a “groomer” (another word for a pedophile) or someone who did not denounce the grooming of young children, adding further negative implications to the LGBTQ community and its allies.[5] In messages with Florida Politics, a news source, Pushaw wrote that “There is no reason for 3- to 8-year-olds to learn about sex in school, and anyone who wants to teach kids that young about sex ... is creating an environment where grooming can easily occur,” ignorant to attempts that Democrats and Republican Senator Jeff Brandes made to amend the bill to ban talks on “human sexuality” as a whole – meaning not only talks on LGBTQ sexuality – in younger grades.5 These attempts were put down and did not end up passing, showing that this is a bill aimed purely at the LGBTQ community. The bill has been opposed through federal government public criticism, student protests, and Disney’s suspension of political donations to the state. [1] “I can’t not make it personal. This bill goes way beyond the text on the page. It sends a terrible message to our youth, that there is something so wrong, so inappropriate, so dangerous about this topic that we have to censor it from classroom instruction,” said openly-gay Representative Carlos G. Smith. [3] “At a Senate hearing on Feb. 8, Republican Sen. Travis Hutson gave the example of a math problem that includes the details that “Sally has two moms or Johnny has two dads.” Republican State Sen. Dennis Baxley, who sponsors the bill in the Senate, said that is “exactly” what the bill aims to prevent.”[2] You can read more about the bill directly from the senate by going to the Florida Senate website and finding House Bill 1557 or by going to flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557 . Sources: 1. Izaguirre, Anthony. “'Don't Say Gay' Bill Signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, March 28, 2022. Accessed September 25, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/florida-dont-say-gay-law-signed-56aee61f075a12663f25990c7b31624d. 2. Carlisle, Madeleine. “Florida Passed the Don't Say Gay Bill. Here's What It Means.” Time. Time, March 8, 2022. Accessed September 25, 3033. https://time.com/6155905/florida-dont-say-gay-passed/. 3. Hayes, Kelly. “'We Are in Distress': House Passes LGBTQ Instruction Bill despite Pleas from Democrats.” Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government., February 24, 2022. Accessed September 25, 2022. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/500337-we-are-in-distress-house-passes-lgbtq-instruction-bill-despite-pleas-from-democrats/. 4. “Trauma and Suicide Risk among LGBTQ Youth.” The Trevor Project, July 28, 2022. Accessed September 25, 2022. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/trauma-and-suicide-risk-among-lgbtq-youth-july-2022/. 5. Powers, Scott. “Gov. DeSantis Spokesperson Labels Sex Ed Bill Opponents 'Groomers'.” Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government., March 29, 2022. Accessed September 25, 2022. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/504879-gov-desantis-spokesperson-labels-sex-ed-bills-opponents-groomers/.
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