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Florida's 'don't say gay' law may sound vague - but its purpose is clear
What does that vague wording mean, exactly? Since heterosexuality is a sexual orientation, does the new law mean a straight teacher can’t mention their spouse? Since discussing gender identity is banned, will students be prohibited from referring to anyone as ‘he’ or ‘she’? Will teachers have to drop gendered honorifics like Mr, Mrs or Miss?
No, of course not. The bill wasn’t designed to be applied with any sort of consistency. It was designed to do one thing and one thing only: terrorize LGBTQ+ people. Like Texas’s abortion bounty law, the don’t say gay bill gives parents the power to levy lawsuits against teachers or schools they believe contravene the deliberately broad law. The threat of being hit with a costly lawsuit means that it’s likely underfunded school districts will err on the side of caution and ask teachers to avoid saying or doing anything that could be possibly be construed as queer. Indeed, lawyers have already told teachers in Orange county public schools that they should be careful not to wear rainbows; avoid mentioning same-sex spouses or displaying any pictures of them; and ensure they remove safe-space stickers from their classroom doors. So there you go: the party that professes to love free speech and small government has pushed through a law that means a rainbow sticker could end a teacher’s career.
No, of course not. The bill wasn’t designed to be applied with any sort of consistency. It was designed to do one thing and one thing only: terrorize LGBTQ+ people. Like Texas’s abortion bounty law, the don’t say gay bill gives parents the power to levy lawsuits against teachers or schools they believe contravene the deliberately broad law. The threat of being hit with a costly lawsuit means that it’s likely underfunded school districts will err on the side of caution and ask teachers to avoid saying or doing anything that could be possibly be construed as queer. Indeed, lawyers have already told teachers in Orange county public schools that they should be careful not to wear rainbows; avoid mentioning same-sex spouses or displaying any pictures of them; and ensure they remove safe-space stickers from their classroom doors. So there you go: the party that professes to love free speech and small government has pushed through a law that means a rainbow sticker could end a teacher’s career.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/02/dont-say-gay-florida-week-in-patriarchy]
Emphasis mine
And this is just the start right? Horrid. Just horrid.
DeSantis, a despot in the making, is playing the far-right card very well. He will continue to encroach on the rights of women, entrapping women further and endangering LGBTQI+ communities and children in the cray cray culture wars. This don’t say gay bill will inevitably negatively impact the learning experiences of Florida’s children (maybe that is the point) because intelligent, skilled teachers won't give in to his nasty homophobic oppression and will vote with their feet.
And this is the man Republicans will want to put in the most powerful position in the world. Good grief.
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