Above, a pride flag is seen in Colombia in 2013. He and other speakers stood at a lectern affixed with a placard reading Protect Children/Support Parents.Ĭritics say the bill is so vaguely worded that speech could be muzzled throughout public schools. Health experts say legislation like Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (which has been dubbed the Don’t Say Gay bill by its opponents) can. LGBTQ+ advocates expressed outrage after a so-called Don’t Say Gay bill was filed in the Louisiana state legislature. “We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” DeSantis said before he signed the bill into law. The legislation has pushed Florida and DeSantis, an ascending Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, to the forefront of the country’s culture wars, with LGBTQ advocates, students, Democrats, the entertainment industry and the White House denouncing what critics have called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.ĭeSantis and Republicans have repeatedly said the measure is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be broaching subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people.
