On March 28th, 2022, Ron DeSantis signed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay Bill”. The bill is officially called the “Parental Rights In Education”  bill. Many people have called it the “Don’t Say Gay Bill”, alluding to how the bill restricts discourse about sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms. The bill allows parents and guardians to sue a school district if the bill’s policy is violated. The bill is effective on July 1, 2022.

What is the bill about?

The bill has quite objectively restricted the bounds of free speech within Florida’s school system. The bill even admits this saying that the bill “prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels” and “requires school districts to notify parents of healthcare services”. The part of the bill mentioning healthcare services makes it harder for transgender and non-binary youth to receive gender-affirming care. The bill is widely considered to be against the LGBTQIA+ community. A poll conducted by The Trevor Project states that about two-thirds of LGBTQIA+ youth said that debates about the bill had negatively impacted their mental health. Many bill supporters claim that the legislation protects children from “radical ideas”. The bill also makes students’ health records more accessible to their guardians.

Support

The bill is extremely controversial in the United States. Not many polls have been done, so the numbers aren’t highly accurate. As more research and polling comes out, the polling will become more accurate. One of the few polls conducted on this issue states that about 51% support the bill, whereas 35% of those polled oppose it. The poll has a sample of 2,005 registered voters and has a margin of error plus or minus 2 percentage points. The bill has still met a lot of backlashes, with companies like Disney suspending political donations in the state. The city of New York has also attacked the bill, inviting opposers of the bill to come to New York City. Many lawsuits have been filed in efforts to block the law as well.

Is this more widespread than we think?

Bills that limit education about the LGBTQIA+ community are becoming increasingly popular. The Ohio GOP has introduced HB 616, a bill that would ban discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity until students were in the fourth grade. Teachers who violate these rules could lose their licenses, and schools who violate these rules could lose state funding. The bill also bans teaching about critical race theory as well.  There has also been child abuse investigation on the parents of transgender children in Texas (though investigations have been halted).

I hope that this article has informed you about the current political climate in the United States regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. If you want to learn more about the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, you can visit the resources below.

Article about Ohio’s HB 616

Comparison between the Ohio bill and the Florida Bill

Potential “don’t say gay” bill in Texas?

Eric Adam’s response to the “don’t say gay” bill.

How does the bill affect teachers?