Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill banning school discussion of sexual identity is pure evil | Opinion

Why do Floridians have to pay the steep price for the insecurities of white, straight males of the extreme-right Republican persuasion?

Because they’re running the state.

Their latest assault on individual rights targets gay and transgender children in our schools with a bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”

In other words, get back in the closet, kids.

Suffer in silence, kids.

See your suicide rates go up, kids.

Endure guilt, shame and bullying just to please a so-called “pro-life” sector of the population that only cares for children when a sperm cell penetrates and fertilizes an egg, combining inside a woman’s body to form a zygote.

The bill is hurtful to human beings already in this world, children — including those growing up in same-sex families who may or may not be gay — as well as grown-ups.

“For too long, the world told me to hide my sexual orientation. Because of stigma, I was scared to be who I knew I am,” Manny Orozco, digital director and aide to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, tweeted on Tuesday.

“The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill is evil and will only injure a new generation of children. They don’t need to be pushed back into the closet, they need our support.”

Indeed, evil is the perfect adjective to describe this attempt to return to the dark ages of sexuality.

Under the guise of the name “Parental Rights in Education,” House Bill 1557 seeks to silence gay children, their teachers and education advocates by banning the discussion of sexuality and gender identification topics in Florida schools.

Introduced by Rep. Joe Harding, a Republican from the small town (pop. 3,000) of Williston in Levy County, the bill has passed in the GOP-led House Education and Employment Committee largely along party lines and, as of this writing, was in the Judiciary Committee.

The Senate companion bill is sponsored by another rural, Central Florida Republican, Sen. Dennis Baxley, and would ban teachers from talking about LGBTQ topics that are not “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

The attempt to quash gay students’ rights is discrimination camouflaged as “parental rights.”

And the level of appropriateness, of course, is measured by whom?

Legislators who live absent from the modern, internet-connected world and dive under a rock of conservativism for political expedience? To cater, for sure, in a midterm election year to a voter group as devoid of critical thought as these legislators are.

So, if it’s approved by the full House and the Senate, say goodbye, perhaps, to clubs like the Gay-Straight Alliance in high schools that provide companionship, emotional shelter and collegiality to teens in need of support.

Say goodbye to quality sex education that has proven through decades of studies to contribute to the mental health well-being of both LGBTQ and straight students. It’ll be the GOP-seal-of-approval brand of education.

You know, the one that leaves people thinking they’re above moral reproach when case after case of sexual misconduct in real life so often comes attached to the “R” word. Congressman Matt Gaetz and the allegations that he sex-trafficked a minor come to mind.

Restrictive and discriminatory

The legislation is so restrictive, discriminatory and outrageous — and gives off such a pile-on stench, given all the other fascist measures under consideration by the Legislature — that it has made headlines across the Atlantic in British media.

Because this, too, is part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fascist agenda.

Miami pols, how can you call for democracy in Cuba, but stand with fascism in Florida? | Opinion

Because even when the most retrograde of regimes is being forced to confront the rainbow of sexuality in humanity, Florida decides to step it back to the days when Anita Bryant peddled orange juice with a heavy dose of hatred against her fellow gay citizens.

Another anti-LGBTQ bill

This isn’t the only anti-LGBTQ bill making its way through the Legislature this session.

House Bill 747 expanding doctors’ abilities to refuse to treat some patients also would lead to transgender discrimination. It would impact people who have transitioned and are seeking healthcare, says Rep. Carlos Guillermo-Smith, Florida’s first openly LGBTQ Latino legislator.

They could be “going to seek care for something unrelated and being REFUSED their meds and being REFUSED the Rx they need because the healthcare provider has a moral or ethical objection to their EXISTENCE,” the Democrat tweeted.

“The bill is outrageous!” he added.

Outrageous is a word we’ll hear again and again this legislative season when, for Florida’s GOP legislators and DeSantis, it’s not enough just to forbid racial inequality lessons, another disgraceful initiative.

Where will the social engineering end for Florida’s Republicans?

Immigrants, gays, Black people, all are facing the ire of the party.

This one attacking gay children, cuts deep, Florida, and none of us should for one moment stand for it.