“Don’t Say Gay” and “Stop WOKE” bills passed by Florida House

• The “Stop WOKE Act” and “Don’t Say Gay” bills have been passed by the Florida House on Thursday.
• The “Stop WOKE” bill, HB7, aims to ban discussion that could make students or workers feel uncomfortable over their race.
• HB1557, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, aims to limit classroom discussion on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Florida House of Representatives have passed HB7 and HB1557, which have been dubbed as the “Stop WOKE” act and “Don’t Say Gay” bill, on Thursday.

Rep. Bryan Avila (R-Miami Springs) sponsored HB7, aka “Stop WOKE,” to ban discussion that would make students or workers feel uncomfortable over their race.

Rep. Joe Harding (R-Ocala) proposed HB1557, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” to limit classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also urges parents to sue schools or teachers that discuss these topics.

After being passed by the House, the bills are one step closer to becoming law as they advance to the Senate.

Democrats have argued that the bills censor honest dialogue about systemic racism and gender and race discrimination.

After the vote, Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) said, “Today is a very dark day in Florida’s history. We did everything we could but today was a day when politics won over policy. Politics won over people.”

Brandon Wolf, a spokesperson for Equality Florida, was overwhelmed with emotion as he recalled surviving the Pulse nightclub shooting. He said that such a tragedy, which killed 49 LBGTQ people, deserves to be told in the classroom.

“You cannot erase us,” he said. He called on the Senate to stop “this governor’s authoritarian out-of-control agenda.”

During the “Don’t Say Gay” vote, Rep. Harding argued that “creating boundaries at an early age of what is appropriate in our schools – when we are funding our schools – is not hate,” and that it’s only “fair to our teachers and our school districts to know what we expect.”

House Speaker Chris Sprowls stated, “Today, Florida is one step closer to ensuring that our schools and workplaces are spaces where we can have healthy instruction and conversation about race and diversity without losing sight that we are first and foremost individuals.”

DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw told Axios that the governor supports “parents’ rights and transparency in education,” but will still read the bills in full before signing.

Pushaw added, “Normalizing the practice of schools hiding information about a child from their parents is dangerous.”

Source: Axios