Florida and it’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

On March 8, the “Don’t Say Gay”, or more officially, the Parental Rights in Education Bill passed the Republican controlled senate in Florida, and with the way things are looking the Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, plans to sign the bill as well.

This has caused a lot of commotion from every state, and Joe Biden has even left his comments on Twitter saying that this is a “hateful bill.”

At first glance, this bill may seem as though it is preventing anyone from talking about this, but in reality it is an attempt to manage what is being taught to kids in public schools. There are plenty of arguments coming from both sides, but the protestors are saying that this may create a more dangerous environment for the students that a part of the LGBT+ community. Senator Annette Taddeo says on an NBCNews.com Article, “We will not stop until this state moves forward and actually values everyone in it, everyone no matter their sexual orientation.”

On the other hand, people are arguing that this will allow for the parents to control what is being taught to their kids. The only thing that this bill is saying is that there should be age limits around certain discussions. More specifically, this bill bans, “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade.

DeSantis left his comments saying, “We will make sure parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination.”  He continues by saying that the critics of this people are supporting teachers sexualizing kids at a very young age and influencing them with gender ideology.

At first glance, I had originally thought that this was an ignorant law that was passed out of homophobia. After taking a closer look, I believe that this has become out of hand. Nowhere in this law does it say that you can’t discuss it in the classroom, but it is preventing teachers from adding it to their curriculum. Seeing as we are talking about 6-9 year olds, this is a topic that whether it was taught or not, they would more than likely not be able to understand it. This nationwide conflict has become out of hand, and more people need to fully understand the law before they make assumptions.