As the Florida state Senate debated a bill titled the Parent Rights in Education Act on Monday, a large group of protesters and Democratic state lawmakers repeatedly chanted, “Gay, gay, gay.”
The colorful rallying cry, most prominently featured in a viral video of four Democratic state lawmakers parading through the state Capitol while chanting the word, was supposed to be an answer to a provision in the bill that liberal pundits and state and national Democrats have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
That provision specifically bars classroom instruction of gender identity or sexual orientation from kindergarten through the third grade.
FLORIDA GOP ADVANCES BILL REGULATING CLASSROOM DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
“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 bill reads.
The bill passed the state Senate Tuesday and now heads to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it.
https://twitter.com/FLSenateDems/status/1500865436614893571?s=20&t=dJrjo7C89fdEZRrYj67Xmw
Despite the targeted nature of the legislation, the bill has drawn the condemnation of sources from Saturday Night Live to the Twitter feed of the White House. Critics claim the bill’s requirements will lead to suicides and other mental health problems for gay and transgender children.
The White House last month claimed the bill was “designed to attack LGBTQI+ kids” and said President Joe Biden was “focused on keeping schools open and supporting students’ mental health.”
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1491182851919908873?s=20&t=uOetkGHjMXPQk8OxEur1IQThe provision barring classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in the first four grades of elementary school has been the flash point of controversy surrounding the act, earning the bill its now infamous moniker despite the word “gay” not appearing in the legislative text — a fact DeSantis has repeatedly noted.
On Monday, DeSantis repeatedly asked, “Does it say that in the bill?” after a reporter asked the governor if he supported the legislation by using the viral nickname.
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1500971287010852868?s=20&t=E6FqgDl8ezz0a8BiB6yNCg
“The idea that you wouldn’t be honest about that and tell people what it actually says is why people don’t trust people like you because you peddle false narratives,” DeSantis told the reporter. “We’re going to make sure parents can send their kids to kindergarten without having some of this stuff injected into their school curriculum.”
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The proposed legislation also broadens parental notification and consent requirements for school interactions with students, including barring school officials from “[discouraging] or [prohibiting] parental notification of and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.”
