Thursday, February 23rd 2022—The Florida House of Representatives passed HB 1557, coined the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” and it is now up for vote in the State Senate. This bill has garnered support from the likes of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, despite gaining much controversy and pushback. The left has touted this bill as another anti-LGBT measure or a further shift into creating an unsafe state for members of their community. However, as the constituents of all elected officials and voting citizens, we need to properly understand what this bill states.
The right has hailed HB 1557 as a way for parents to have more say in how their children are raised, as the bill would prohibit discussions of gender identity and sexuality in kindergarten through third grade at an instructional level. The bill states that it attempts to protect the “fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbring and control of their children” in that it would prevent withholding information from a parent “affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being”. Incorrectly, this has been spun into stating that teachers or instructors will be required to “out” their children to their parents, making confidentiality a concern. Instructors are not required to provide information but cannot withhold said information; as in, if a parent is concerned about their young child, and asks directly if the child has posed questions about their gender or sexuality within the classroom, the instructor cannot withhold the information. This does not require the teacher to report the student immediately; while mandatory reporters, teachers are not likely to report anything that would not be of concern to a parent.
Monday, March 28th, 2022—The “Don’t Say Gay Bill” was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, as predicted by many. While remaining incredibly controversial, in the week since, there have not been many direct results. Some have incorrectly applied the bill to higher levels of education, such as middle school or high school. This is incorrect; the bill focuses on young children, ages 5-9. For topics pertaining to gender and sexuality, they are essentially limited in the classroom until the child is of age to begin discussing subjects pertaining to sex education (typically occurring in middle school).
Although this bill was signed into law recently, the backlash has been substantial. For instance, electronic billboards protesting the bill will be plastered all around Florida, in an attempt to get LGBT persons to move to New York, where “it’s okay to say gay”. These billboards will go on until May 29th, where an estimated 5 million impressions will be made throughout the state. There will likely be a lawsuit against the bill in the near future, as opposers describe the bill as going against free speech. HB 1557 is a very interesting case study in the controversial steps both sides of the political spectrum are making against a culture war. There has not been much legislation like it, and states like Florida are at the forefront of it all. Supporters hail the bill as a step in the right direction, making parents in more control of their children’s education and determining how they want to parent. Opposition states that it is a clear violation of personal liberties—supposedly the ones of minors, or children who do not even understand civics, much less sexuality or gender. Banning the discussion of LGBT related topics can allow children to focus on being children, and not worry about larger issues such as these. Similar laws, like the one pushed by Governor Greg Abbott to make gender transitioning for minors constitute as child abuse, are beginning steps to creating a safer environment for children to not have any political agenda forced on them.