By now it’s clear that Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics, is impacting students in ways far beyond its originally stated purpose.
This week a group of Florida teens and their families, along with LGBTQ advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit against the new restrictions, which prevent discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.
When the bill was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (above) in March, proponents claimed its purpose was to limit early sex education in grades K-3. But the legislation also contained vague language about banning LGBTQ-themed conversations deemed “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” Critics feared a door would open for varying interpretations that would directly harm LGBTQ students in all grades.
Related: Florida high school enacts insane new LGBTQ policy and everyone’s thinking the same thing
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That door subsequently burst open, with some schools forcing teachers to remove signage indicating a classroom is a “safe space” for LGBTQ students, remove photographs of their same-sex spouses, and even out students to their peers’ parents.
The law also allows parents to sue school districts they believe are violation of the measure.
Three civil rights groups — Lambda Legal, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Southern Legal Counsel — are suing on behalf of two families, Florida teen activist Will Larkins, and LGBTQ center association CenterLink.
The suit condemns the law’s “vigilante enforcement mechanism,” and its “intentionally vague and sweeping scope, [inviting] parents who oppose any acknowledgement whatsoever of the existence of LGBTQ+ people to sue, resulting in schools acting aggressively to silence students, parents, and school personnel.”
It named four county school boards — Orange, Indian River, Duval and Palm Beach — as defendants.
Related: Florida teen goes viral educating history teacher on Stonewall. Now the school is “investigating.”
Larkins, for instance, gave their history class a presentation on Stonewall’s significance after they discovered it would not be included in a curriculum on U.S. history of the ’60s and ’70s. Afterwards, they reported the school was “investigating me about this piece because my history teacher doesn’t like it.”
Lamda Legal said that, “after Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ law was passed, Plaintiff Will Larkins (he/they) was moved to another history class… They also saw students stomp on pride flags during a student-led walkout in opposition to this law.”
After Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law was passed, Plaintiff Will Larkins (he/they) was moved to another history class after giving a presentation on the Stonewall riots. They also saw students stomp on pride flags during a student-led walkout in opposition to this law. pic.twitter.com/xds5EihqNS
— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) July 26, 2022
Another plaintiff — a gay, married couple — have children in the third and fourth grades. After coming back to school from summer vacation, the kids were excited to share what they’d done during the time off. Instead, the couple had to tell their kids not to mention their celebration of Pride.
The suit is the second filed against the law. In March, Lawyers with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the firm of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP sued on behalf of Equality Florida and Family Equality as well as students, parents, and a teacher.
Diplomat
It’s heartwarming and inspiring to see kids forcefully fight to overcome 2k+ years of barbaric religious bigotry.
jt1990
Gays were getting screwed long before this law. By each other LOL! This new rule only does harm to those who ruminate over it.
radiooutmike
Are you sure it only does harm to “those who ruminate over it”?
I am pretty sure school students in Florida as well as their educators and assorted staff will be harmed by this law. The bigotry may effectively be the same as what we ourselves may have experienced when we were much younger. The difference is, it is now codified by Florida state law.
Cam
Sweetie, if you’re going to troll, please make sure you actually have anything to say. All you’re doing here is vomiting a few words and hoping to deflect from the following fact:
Republicans are bigots who won’t be satisfied until LGBTQ people are either in jail or hiding in the closet, or dead.
We get it, you’re a really bad troll, but you’re all the right wing can afford.
As always, your trolling is sad and weak.
ZzBomb
How does this “don’t say gay” bill feature in your whining over “free speech” rights?
Fname Optional Lname
Tell that to the closeted gay kid who is surrounded by closed minded red-necks spewing venom about LGBTQ people and how they need to be wiped off the face of the earth. The loneliness and shame some children feel leads to life long issues and even suicide for some. Being able to acknowledge that gay people exist and that nothing is wrong with being LGBTQ is essential
abfab
‘Ruminate”? Okay, another one who just fell off the turnip truck.
jt1990
@Cam keeping young kids from learning trans nonsense isn’t going to kill anyone, LGBT or otherwise. Wasn’t totally trolling either, but as always, your ability to comprehend is sad and weak. LMAO! @radiooutmike I believe the law applies to third grade level age and under. By the time the kids are old enough to understand their sexuality may be different, the new law will not effect them.
@Fname Optional Lname see above statement. Also, sorry you had to deal with mean rednecks. (I’m assuming the closeted kid was you at one point.) The ones I knew in school were laid back. The few that claimed to hate gays turned out to be DL closet cases.
Bosch
@JT are you ever going to tell us why you, a self-identified heterosexual, comes to Queerty to read gay articles and talk to gay men?
Is this really the only way you know how to explore your sexuality?
RickHeathen
Fname Optional Lname,
Thank you. You practically just described my entire childhood.
Invader7
Go back to the trailer park you slimy hetero breeder !!!
Brian
Weird how the students in lots of Florida schools have school shooter drills, but they’re not allowed to talk about the largest mass shooting in the state’s history (where the victims were gay). Eliminating that context is really twisted.
Same with the lesson on the 1960s. Absolutely, the resistance at Stonewall was related to other civil rights efforts of the decade. To pretend like only black people were fighting for their rights is to eliminate important context for the lesson.
abfab
They really didn’t think this one thru. The republicans never really do. Wars, human rights. Donald Dump.
The law suits should be very educational for us all, unless you’re a homophobe.
Mister P
Teaching kids that Trans people exist is not nonsense. They have to learn about the world as it is.
Like it was stated, They can learn about active shooters, but not trans kids or kids who have same sex parents.
Glad you were only partially trolling. NOT!
Bosch
Yeah, but if you make children too smart, they might not grow up to be republicans.
CNY1983
go ahead republicans BET THE FARM on “DAH-SANTIST”. then get back under your rocks.
Kangol2
DeSantis’s “gay” (“trans”?) multi-personality disorder cheerleader Mario/James Hart/Marcy/M. Galliano, etc. was having orgasms about him on here just a month ago, and now that unstable person (or stable of personae/personalities) has disappeared, or chosen a new name, perhaps because Queerty has clamped down on his/her/their instability and trolling.
LumpyPillows
To be very clear, this law was written for adults and is pandering to them. It was not intended to help children. Children were not really at risk of anything more than learning about reality. It was and is pandering to right-wing adults. (The few instances where teachers or administrators may have gone to far, and there were some, do not justify this law.)
Chilling positive discussion will harm many children. Providing education on sex and gender is important to helping young people understand themselves. This is now left to ridiculous parents.
Do not be fooled. This is the republican strategy to win the mid-terms. They have, for decades, used the LGBT scare tactic to win elections. It works. Going after lesbians and gays no longer works, so they are now using the wrong-headed approach of transitioning tweens.
unreligious
@jt1990; your understanding of the law is as deficient as your admitted trolling. If you even read the article it points out how the law is not only restricting speech in K-3 but at all levels. But that has always been Deathsanto’s playbook. Emphasize the K-3 pretend the rest of the law does not exist.
LMG
Every time I see a picture of DeSantass, he always has the same look: that of a quizzical bewildered
infantile Sh!t – which is exactly what he is. And the Repooplicans want to put him into office in place of Lard Ass of Mar-a-Lago. There’s another worthless trade designed to pull this country down another few notches. DeSantass doesn’t govern. He meddles in people’s lives, boasts about things he’s done which don’t past muster on close examination, is always doing a photo op surrounded by his lackeys and little children (!), and is totally unqualified to be the governor or president of anything. Vote him OUT! Save Florida; save the United States from this vapid unfeeling bully. We’ve already had more than enough of that. He’s just a younger version.
Invader7
DeathSantis :another uber toxic NEO NAZI FASCIST !!! He’s another DANGEROUS politician we don’t need. Wait til he tries to run for Prez in 2024.All of the pissed off young adults in FL will resoundingly trounce his nasty ass.He has those Hitler PSYCHO eyes. Tightly wound pupils hiding venom & hate…
MrMichaelJ
This kind of stuff really irks me because I was called f@g for the 1st time in 2nd grade in 1978 when I was 7 and those kids knew exactly what it meant and that’s why they said it and it didn’t stop for years and years so give me a flying flipping break with this “they’re too young” when they mean “they’re too young to hear it in any positive light”.
RickHeathen
Thank you! Wow. So, I wasn’t the only one it started with in second grade. For me, it was “sissy”. I grew up mostly in East Tennessee and they absolutely tortured me for over a decade. It altered the trajectory of my life, and I’ve never been the same.
I’ve written my autobiography. If anyone is interested, it’s free. It’s at Smashwords under my real name Rick Haydn Horst. It’s called “A Problem of Me”. I just hope that people learn something from my experiences, and hopefully people will see how these things really can begin in second grade.
scotty
all these kids are gonna be 18 and all of them not voting for desantis for anything. much like most of the rest of the reasonable people.
Invader7
FL- the dick state !!!
Beanie16
If they want books that talk about pedophilia, incest, rape, murder and slavery out of the library’s then they need to ban that barbaric christian bible #banthebible