Florida Rep. Joe Harding sponsored the 'Don't Say Gay' bill
Florida Rep. Joe Harding (Photo: Twitter)

Florida GOP Rep. Joe Harding has been in the news a lot recently as the author of HB 1557, better known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. The controversial legislation was passed by the Florida Senate last week.

Harding made headlines over the weekend for other reasons. His home in Ocala was hit by a tornado, according to Florida Politics.

Related: ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill is passed by Florida’s House

The tornado touched down upon Ocala on Saturday morning. Harding was not home but other family members were. The house suffered damage but thankfully no-one was hurt.

The tornado wreaked further destruction on the homes of neighbors, with Harding estimating that seven out of ten homes in his neighborhood suffered “catastrophic damage.”

Of his own home’s encounter with the tornado, he said, “We are blessed. It could have been a lot worse.”

Local weather stations reported an EF-1 tornado passed through the area, with wind speeds of up to 110mph.

As some people are quick to blame bad weather on divine intervention, many on Twitter had thoughts.

Related: Out senator breaks down during debate over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

Aimed at schools, HB 1557 (the “Parental Rights in Education” bill) seeks to ban the discussion of LGBTQ topics mainly at the primary grade level. However, it will also limit discussion when “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students”. It’s now heading toward Governor Ron DeSantis’ deck for signing. DeSantis has indicated he supports the legislation.

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