A recent Florida bill was passed that potentially could restrict any elementary level classroom discussion over sexual orientation and gender identity.
The bill was created with the intention to give parents back control over what their children are exposed to and received a lot of support, especially from Florida’s very own Governor Ron DeSantis. However, the detrimental bill also faced backlash by the LGBTQ+ community and fellow supporters of the community.
The proposed “Don’t Say Gay” bill would not only limit LGBTQ+ youth representation, but effect the overall identity of students who are already struggling with sexuality expression and self-acceptance.
Both Texas and Florida lawmakers have attempted to make advances in limiting the rights of non-cisgendered and straight conforming individuals. These are attempts to change the lives of those they do not care to understand and those of with whom they do not agree.
With Texas bills such as the abortion ban and House Bill 25, which restricts transgender teens from participating in school sports, the new Florida bill only adds to the undoing of representation progression in America. Texas and Florida do not care about the representation of their residents. They do not care to protect their citizens nor do they care to represent everyone equally.
According to Equality Florida, a group that organizes protests in the state of Florida, “misrepresentation of citizens creates environments of exclusion and oppression against certain communities.” Any advances that have been made for finally earning equality for all, which is a basic human right, is continuously being stripped away little by little as more bills like these pass.
If supporters of this new bill believe this will halt those who are advocating for equal representation of all communities in America, it will not. It will only fuel them with more passion and give them something else to continue to fight for.
After the bill was passed by both the Florida Senate and House, it made it’s way to Governor DeSantis to be signed. At the time of publication the bill had not yet been signed, but if the bill aquires the governor’s signature, it will go into effect July 1.