POLITICS
Florida Senate Passes “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” Bill
Legislation would ban LGBTQ-related topics in classrooms
BY MATT TRACY
The legislative campaign
to ban discussion of LGBTQ
issues in Florida
classrooms plowed forward
on March 8 when the State
Senate approved the so-called
“Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill.
The fate of the legislation, which
already cleared the lower chamber,
is now in the hands of Republican
Governor Ron Desantis, who
boasts an extensive anti-LGBTQ
record and has expressed his support
for the bill.
The fi nal legislation passed by
the upper house stipulates that
classroom instruction “on sexual
orientation or gender identity may
not occur in kindergarten through
grade three or in a manner that is
not age appropriate or developmentally
appropriate for students in
accordance with state standards.”
Hillsborough High School students exit class on March 3 to protest the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill.
While the bill has developed a
nationwide reputation for its core
purpose — banning LGBTQ-related
discussions in classrooms
— it further poses serious privacy
concerns for students who are not
REUTERS/OCTAVIO JONES
yet prepared to come out to their
family. The law calls for parents
to be notifi ed of any changes to a
student’s physical, mental, or emotional
health. The bill also allows
parents to sue school districts for
violating the law.
Florida Democrats mounted aggressive
resistance to the bill during
a debate on the Senate fl oor
before the vote. State Senator Tina
Polsky, a New York-born lawmaker
who represents parts of Palm
Beach and Broward Counties,
asked her colleagues whether they
seriously believe teachers are engineering
children to be gay.
Osceola County State Senator
Vic Torres, who has an out trans
child, denounced the bill as unnecessary
and said he would not support
it. Another state senator, Linda
Stewart, whose district includes the
site of the Orlando Pulse massacre,
warned her colleagues of passing
such legislation just six years after
dozens of LGBTQ people were murdered
in a senseless attack.
None of that fazed the 22 lawmakers
— all Republican — who eventually
voted in favor of the bill.
Seventeen lawmakers voted
against the bill, including Jeff
Brandes, who was the lone GOP
state senator to oppose it. If De-
Santis approves the measure, it
would go into effect on July 1.
The legislative proposal is the
latest in a string of anti-LGBTQ
bills targeting queer youth — especially
trans children — in numerous
states across the country.
Earlier this month, Texas took the
extraordinary step of launching
investigations into the families of
trans youth receiving gender-affi
rming care, though a court has at
least temporarily halted one of the
probes conducted by the state.
Meanwhile, much of the national
attention is focused squarely on
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans”
bill. Nationwide anger over that legislation
boiled over in recent days
after DeSantis’ press secretary,
Christina Pushaw, invoked false
stereotypes about queer people
when she posted a tweet comparing
LGBTQ individuals to pedophiles.
“The bill that liberals inaccurately
call ‘Don’t Say Gay’ would be
more accurately described as an
anti-grooming bill,” Pushaw wrote.
LGBTQ folks on the ground in
Florida are continuing to fi ght
back. Equality Florida, a statewide
LGBTQ advocacy group, blasted
the bill’s “vague language” and
warned schools against enforcing
the law “in a way that endangers
the safety of children.”
“At every turn, the Florida
legislature rejected reasonable
amendments to this legislation
and refused to mitigate its harm,”
Equality Florida said in a written
statement after state senators
passed the bill. “Now, in deference
to the extreme political agenda of
the governor, the Florida Senate
has passed the hateful ‘Don’t Say
Gay’ bill and sent it to his desk.”
Students, advocates, families,
and others protested the bill during
the days leading up to the vote.
A legal fi ght is expected to emerge
if the legislation is enacted — and
it could come in direct confl ict with
the federal government’s policies
pertaining to LGBTQ students. US
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona
denounced the “Don’t Say
Gay or Trans” bill shortly after the
Florida State Senate approved it.
“My team and I stand with our
LGBTQ+ students in Florida and
across the country and urge Florida
leaders to protect & support all
students,” Cardona said.
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