Polk County's reps co-sponsor 'Stop Sexualization' bill

Polk County’s Republican members of the U.S. House have co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit federal funding to any entity that provides “sexually-oriented” materials to children under age 10.

Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland, and Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, are among more than 30 co-sponsors of the bill, officially titled the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act,” that was introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.

Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Clermont, is also a co-sponsor. Webster is running in the redrawn U.S. House District 18, which will cover much of northern Polk County.

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In introducing the bill, Johnson claimed that state and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, have used federal funds to promote or host events such as drag queen story hours for children, The Hill reported.

What does the legislation define as “sexually-oriented material”?

The legislation defines “sexually-oriented material” as those showing or describing sexual acts, human genitals or covering such topics as “gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation or related subjects.”

An organization that violated the law more than once within five years would lose federal funds for three years. Advocates have called the bill anti-LGBTQ and compared it to a new Florida law, officially known as Parental Rights in Education but labeled “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

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The American Independent, a liberal website, called Johnson’s proposal a “national ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.”

“I am proud to co-sponsor the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act because the federal government shouldn’t be in the business of exposing young kids to sexually explicit materials,” Franklin said in an emailed statement. "This bill is putting organizations on notice that if you continue to expose young children to sexually explicit material, you will be defunded and held accountable in a court of law. If any ‘critics’ have a problem with that, they should explain to parents why they feel it is necessary to sexualize minors in the first place.”

The three representatives also signed a recent letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in support of Florida’s request to declare a federal fishery resource disaster following Hurricane Ian. Such a declaration would provide assistance to fishing and seafood businesses that have been disrupted or destroyed by the storm.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, also signed the bipartisan letter.

Franklin and Webster also signed a letter urging congressional leaders to prohibit energy exploration and development east of the Military Mission Line in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. The letter seeks protection for Florida’s Gulf Test Range, a testing and training area in the Gulf of Mexico.

The letter says the “Inflation Reduction Act,” passed this year, removes protections for the Gulf Test Range extended by former President Donald Trump in 2020. Neither Soto nor Steube signed the letter.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk's US House reps co-sponsor 'Stop the Sexualization of Children Act' bill