Florida Anti-Gay Law Takes Effect and Rocks Schools

In addition to the specter of the U.S. Supreme Court possibly erasing same sex marriage in some future case that Christofascists will likely bring, on this 4th of July weekend LGBT Americans are seeing a preview of the future as Florida's "don't say gay" law came into effect as of July 1, 2022.  While the law specifically seeks to remove mention of gays and sexual orientation from Florida's public schools, it is part of a larger Republican effort to erase true and accurate American history from being taught and to push heterosexual white male supremacy in all aspects of society while stigmatizing and dehumanizing the rest of the members of society.  The law will take a huge toll on LGBT students, many of whom will be forced to remain in the closet and prohibit teachers and school counsellors - often the only people such students have to talk to if they come from Christian extremist homes - from aiding students.  Having grown up in the closet in the 1960's I know how devastating such isolation can be and how its is only too easy to drift to thoughts of suicide, not that the "godly folk" care at all about the harm they do to others.   The worse part of the law is that it allows vigilante parents to sue schools and teachers if they present any information that offends Christofascist/white supremacist sensibilities.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at this foul law that Republicans want to take nationwide. Here are highlights:

Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law, popularly known by critics as the “don’t say gay” bill, went into effect on Friday, restricting what teachers can say about gender and sexual orientation. The White House called it part of “a disturbing and dangerous nationwide trend” of targeting the LGBTQ community and encouraged Floridians to challenge it.

The law, signed March 28 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), is the first of its kind in the country. It prevents teachers in kindergarten through third grade from discussing gender and sexual orientation in class and restricts what they can say in upper grades to what is developmentally appropriate, without saying what that is.

The law also legally empowers parents to sue school districts as a way to advance their “parental rights.” It is part of a push by DeSantis to restrict what teachers can say — an effort that also includes topics in race, racism and U.S. history. More than a dozen other states have seen similar bills introduced in their legislatures. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he wants to make such a law “a top priority” in the next legislative session.

Critics say that the vaguely worded law will force LGBTQ students and teachers to hide their identities, and that the threat of being sued will lead teachers to keep quiet about issues that are important for students to learn.

In a statement, the White House said in part: “This is not an issue of ‘parents’ rights.’ This is discrimination, plain and simple. It’s part of a disturbing and dangerous nationwide trend of right-wing politicians cynically targeting LGBTQI+ students, educators, and individuals to score political points. It encourages bullying and threatens students’ mental health, physical safety, and well-being. It censors dedicated teachers and educators who want to do the right thing and support their students. And it must stop.”

The White House encouraged any student or parent experiencing discrimination to file a complaint with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.

The White House statement referenced a number of reports coming from Florida about schools and districts taking steps to comply with what they think the law prohibits.

It said: “Already, there have been reports that ‘Safe Space’ stickers are being taken down from classrooms. Teachers are being instructed not to wear rainbow clothing. LGBTQI+ teachers are being told to take down family photos of their husbands and wives . . .

In May, the openly gay valedictorian of a high school in Sarasota County was told by his principal not to mention the word “gay” in his graduation speech or say anything about his activism, which includes being the youngest plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the law. The Pine View Senior Class President Zander Moricz said he was told his microphone would be cut off if he did. So, instead, he communicated his message by using “curly hair” as a metaphor.

“I used to hate my curls,” he said, after removing his graduation cap and running his hands through his hair. “I spent morning and night embarrassed of them trying to straighten this part of who I am, but the daily damage of trying to fix myself became too much to endure. So while having curly hair in Florida is difficult due to the humidity, I decided to be proud of who I was and started coming to school as my authentic self.”

This effort to define who are "real Americans" - which is straight whites only - ignores the true history of America and seeks to further a 12th century understanding of sexuality.  With English ancestors who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630's, French ancestors who arrived in New Orleans in the second decade of the 1700's and English/Scots ancestors who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in the early 1700's I would argue that I am more of a real American than most of the extremists who want to erase me and those like me.