Florida Governor Enacts Law Prohibiting Discussing Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Schools
El Governor of Florida, the republican Ron De Santis, has promulgated this Monday the controversy law popularly known asDon't Say Gay” (“Don’t say gay”), which prohibits talking about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools.
"This law comes to correct something that is happening in the US, parents are ignored in school decisions on issues of sexual education and gender identity", has said DeSantis signing the law at a school in Spring Hill, West Florida. “It is inappropriate for children in preschool and first and second grades. Parents do not want this to happen in our schools”, Said the Republican, a potential presidential candidate for 2024.
The past 8 of March, the Florida Senate approved the controversial bill that prohibits teachers from talking about sexuality and gender identity in the classroom, a measure baptized by its detractors as “don't say gay".
The project, officially called “Rights of parents in education”, prevents teachers from addressing gender identity and sexual orientation between kindergarten and third grade. From that grade of primary education both issues will be addressed in a way "age appropriate”, according to the text of the project. In addition, according to the law signed this Monday, parents will have the possibility of filing lawsuits against the school district and receive compensation for damages, if they fail to comply with this provision.
Criticism of the new law
During the last delivery ceremony of the Academy Awards, the bill was the subject of joke by the actress, writer and comedian Wanda Sykes. "We are going to have a great night. And for you in Florida, we're having a gay nightSykes, who is a lesbian, joked.
Florida students have organized walkouts and have gathered in the halls of the House of Representatives to protest the measure. The president of United States, Joe Biden, for his part, has also condemned the bill, which he describes as “hateful” for the LGTBIQ+ community.
The company Walt Disney, which plays a major role in Florida politics, has suspended its political donations in the state, and workers at its theme parks have staged walkouts over the company's CEO's lack of response to the bill.
DeSantis does not back down
"I don't care what the corporate media says, I don't care what they say HollywoodI don't care what the big corporations say, here I am. I will not back down", has said DeSantis by signing the law. “At the end of the day, my goal is to educate children in the subjects that are so important: Math, Reading, Science".
Human Rights Campaign of Florida has immediately said that it will do everything in its power to prevent a law from being applied “discriminatory and dangerous” who, silencing the masters, seeks “further stigmatize and isolate children LGTBIQ + and undermine existing protections for students in that community".
"Today, Governor DeSantis once again placed Florida squarely on the wrong side of history and put his own young constituents squarely in harm's way, and he has done so for no other reason than to serve his own political ambitions.", has said Joni Madison, interim president of the Human Rights Campaign.
