“We will not allow this bill to harm LGBTQ Floridians.
“We will not sit by and allow the governor’s office to call us pedophiles,” Equality Florida said in a statement when the legislation passed out of the state Senate. Opponents of the legislation ― who gave the bill the “Don’t Say Gay” moniker ― have slammed it as hateful and discriminatory and have vowed to fight it in court. The legislation, which allows parents to sue school districts in order to enforce it, mandates that any classroom lessons “by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Ron DeSantis (R) has signed legislation known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law despite nationwide outrage, largely forbidding instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in most elementary school classrooms.
