A bill known as ” Don’t say gay ” (“No digas gay”, translated into Spanish) advances in the Florida Legislature amid controversies that blame Republicans for wanting to promote “homophobia” by canceling the discussions on sexuality and gender identity in school classrooms.
According to Swissinfo , the initiative, which has been rejected by organizations of the LGBTQ+ community , would prevent teachers from talking about such topics, considering that they are not “appropriate for the age or development of students”.
“We are parents, students and teachers. We are your brothers and sisters. Conversations about us are not a dangerous thing that should be banned,” said Jon Harris Maurer , director of Equaility Florida , during sessions discussing the initiative.
The so-called Parents’ Rights in Education Bill was already approved in the Education and Employment Committee and is now being studied by the Judiciary.
For Republican Joe Harding , sponsor of the law, it is an initiative to defend the responsibility of “being a father.”
However, Florida legislator Anna Eskamani believes that any effort to erase LGBTQ+ individuals and families “is rooted in homophobia and transphobia.”
If the project is approved, parents will be able to file lawsuits against the school district and receive compensation for damages if they believe that its policies violate the “fundamental right to make decisions about the upbringing and control of their children.”
Another bill is also advancing in the Florida Legislature aimed at preventing whites from feeling “uncomfortable”, “guilty” or “distressed” when issues of racism or discrimination that occurred in the past are dealt with in schools or companies.
If passed, the initiative would prevent teachers from teaching subjects that could make students feel responsible for historical mistakes based on their race , sex or national origin.
Last December, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis , a Republican, proposed a bill, known as WOKE , that would allow parents to sue schools that teach “critical race theory.”
That theory is grounded in an interdisciplinary intellectual and social movement of civil rights scholars and activists seeking to examine the intersection of race and law in the United States.
Source: Swissinfo
