LGBTQ groups decry new Florida bill they describe as 'Don't Say Gay 2.0′

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are looking to expand controversial legislation passed just last year that banned the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3.

Critics are already labeling the bill “Don’t Say Gay 2.0.?

The newly filed bills in the House and Senate both extend the prohibition on teaching gender identity and sexual orientation from grades K-3 to pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

“Every family is different, and children mature at different rates. The place for instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity is in the home, guided by the parents if they deem it appropriate,” said Senate Sponsor Clay Yarborough (R-Jacksonville) in an emailed statement.

To supporters of the policy like Anthony Verdugo with the Florida Christian Family Coalition, the bills represent an expansion of parents’ rights.


“Parents were not even aware until a couple of years ago that this was happening in curriculum or lesson plans,” said Verdugo.

But the legislation goes even further.

It requires school policies to reflect, “that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.”


It also prohibits schools from requiring staff and students to use pronouns that don’t align with a person’s biological sex.

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/lgbtq-groups-decry-new-florida-bill-they-describe-dont-say-gay-20/GJ2LWSYD7RC4DOZIWOLK4MDN6I/

[Phoenix61]

1. Seems that want to give total control to a select group of parents, MAGATs

“It requires school policies to reflect, “that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.” “

[Phoenix61]

2. Seems that want to give total control to a select group of parents, MAGATs

“It requires school policies to reflect, “that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.” “

[Timeflyer]

3. Is this even a real problem that requires legislation?

Or is this another attempt to demonize public education so charter school corporations can move in and privatize education while skimming off tax payer dollars
/

[Ms. Toad]

4. Obviously it doesn't require legislation.

And it has nothing to do with privatizing education.

It is an attack on LGBT individuals, pure and simple. This is a repeat of the same gender marriage game plan used in the 2004 presidential election: Create an issue which gets conservatives and - especially - religious evangelicals riled up. Portray it as an earthshattering evil that must be legislated (or voted) out of existence to protect their families and way of life. When legislation fails - or even if it doesn't - put laws and/or state constitutional amendments on the ballot for the 2024 election knowing darn well that while those religious zealots are at the polls they will vote for the Republican candidate.

Choose your issue carefully so that it is one that Democrats are not united on (or are afraid to take a stand on) - which makes it impossible for the Democratic candidate to take a stand - AND - diverts the energy of LGBT individuals away from fighting the ballot initiatives and instead to propping up candidates who are not willing to publicly support us, since we're realistic enough to know that it is more important to prop up the candidate who is afraid of us than it is to defeat the ballot initiatives, since defeat means allowing Republicans even more seats on the Supreme Court.

In 2004, the issue was same gender marriage. On DU, as elsewhere, I spent a lot of energy fighting people who insisted that it just wasn't time yet. During the day I pounded the pavement for Kerry, not even mentioning Issue One (Ohio's marriage discrimination amendment), since Ohio was then still a swing state - and I knew that a number of Kerry voters would also vote in favor of Issue One and I couldn't risk turning them away. At night I designed and maintained a website opposing Issue One, created bumper stickers, wrote letters to the editor, etc. And on Sundays, as the nominal leader of my faith community I reviewed the correspondence our community received from both state and national organizations urging me to motivate my congregation to go to the polls to vote in favor of Issue One. In other words - as someone who received the correspondence I know exactly how they used same gender marriage to drive religious zealots to the polls. And on election day, I spent the day at the polls checking to make sure the voters I rounded up actually made it to the polls, and giving last minute encouragement to the Kerry voters.

It worked. Two-thirds of Ohioans took time out of their busy days on Election Day to spit on my marriage, Kerry couldn't even be bothered for the initial tallies in Ohio to be posted before conceding, and many on DU blamed people like me for Kerry losing - completely oblivious to the fact that it was a very deliberate Republican/conservative plan to elevate non-issues (Ohio already had both an implicit and an express marriage discrimination law; a constitutional amendment was redundant) to drive religious zealots who might have otherwise stayed at home on election day to the polls. Yes - nearly 2 decades later it still burns, especially the blame heaped on LGBT individuasl both before, and the morning after, the election.

The exact same thing is happening now - with trans individuals the primary target (potty bills, bans on trans athletes, etc.) I expect many states to have some variation of these laws or constitutional amendments on the ballot in 2024, and to be used as a tool to drive religious zealots to the polls

And, not surprisingly, DU is reacting the same way. EarlG locked a thread earlier today in which members of DU took the side of those whose goal is legislate trans individuals out of existence, drive them back in the closet, or kill them.

We need to recognize what they are doing, call it out, and - most important - start actively supporting the individuals whose lives they are using to put a Republican back in the White House again. Suggesting this is not a hill we want to die on (as one example from that locked thread) gives comfort and aid to the enemy, and does grave emotional damage to LGBGT individuals - including those on DU.