Recently, Gavin Newsom the Governor of California tweeted about Florida’s expansion of the Don’t Say Gay Law.
He has claimed the act cannot be termed as freedom and it will lead to erasing the existence of the LGBTQ community.
1. Florida’s Don’t Say Gay Law: What to Know
Ron DeSantis the Governor of Florida has signed four bills restricting the rights of the LGBTQ community. One of the bills expands to measures like banning saying gay.
Another bill signed by the Governor will ban transition-related care for minors.
There has also been a ban approved by the Board of Education on instructions related to sexual orientation which is a part of the Parental Rights in education bill.
Many authors and jurists have claimed that the law is vague.
2. What Does LGBTQ Mean?
LGBTQ is an acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and understanding these terms appropriately and identifying people with the gender they associate with, provides them with a strong gender identity and a gender role.
However, this new law seems to conflict rules with the freedom and rights of the LGBTQ community.
3. Other Aspects of the Bills
If the four legislations are approved then they would also give the State the power to revoke food and beverage licenses of businesses that allow admission of children to adult performances.
Another bill passed by the House bans people from entering bathrooms other than the sex that was assigned to them at the time of their birth.
4. Criticism of the Bills
Critics have strongly argued that the four bills signed by the Governor would lead to the marginalization of a particular community and other opposition leaders have called this hateful.
Democrats have also argued that not inculcating essential instructions can hamper the wholesome development of children.
The bill also bans the display of pride flags in public buildings and several disciplines have been removed. This has also been criticized. Disney has also been one of the organizations against the bills.
5. Reasons for Criticism Against the Bills
These altered measures prohibit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, restrict education related to reproductive health, prevent using pronouns, and restrict drag performances for minors.
However, it has been argued by the Democrats that these actions are discriminatory and would lead to an identity crisis among the children.
Also, the supporters of the Republican representatives in the United States of America have stated that doing otherwise would be considered an assault against minors.
They are in support of banning the entry of minor children to drag performances. The supporters have also argued that the words “don’t say gay” are nowhere mentioned in any of the bills.
6. Protests Against the “Don’t Say Gay” Law
The constitutional status of the law was challenged by advocates and activists who support LGBTQ rights.
Moreover, the law took effect on 1st July 2022 and there have been several protests against it.
The recent expansion of the law and its increased ambit has led to more protests.
