Don’t Let A Little Thing Like The First Amendment Stop You.

I don’t know if you saw the bill that is making its way through the Florida legislature… you can’t say anything LGBTQ+.

'Don't Say Gay' bill would limit discussion of sexuality and gender in Florida schools
NPR
By Joe Hernandez
February 9, 2022


Proposed legislation in Florida would restrict how teachers can discuss sexuality and gender in the classroom, the latest effort by Republican lawmakers to remove the teaching of LGBTQ issues from schools.

Supporters say the measure empowers parents who deserve to have a say in what their children learn, but critics — who've dubbed the proposal the "Don't Say Gay" bill — argue that it will strip protections from LGBTQ kids and have a chilling effect on educators.

Versions of the so-called Parental Rights in Education bill passed a Florida House committee in January and cleared a Senate committee this week.

But there is a lot of Democratic push back…

White House denounces Florida GOP over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
AP
By Anthony Izaguirre
February 8, 2022

The White House on Tuesday slammed Florida Republicans over a proposal to ban discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state’s schools.

A White House spokesperson weighed in on the legislation, dubbed by activists as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, shortly after a GOP-controlled committee approved the measure.

“Every parent hopes that our leaders will ensure their children’s safety, protection, and freedom. Today, conservative politicians in Florida rejected those basic values by advancing legislation that is designed to target and attack the kids who need support the most – LGBTQI+ students, who are already vulnerable to bullying and violence just for being themselves,” the White House statement read.

[…] 

Asked about the proposal on Tuesday, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “I haven’t looked at any particulars of anything but I do think you’ve seen instances in which kids are encouraged to be doing stuff with like a gender ideology and I think the parents really do need to be involved in that.”

And it was denounced by

Chasten Buttigieg speaks out against Florida’s ‘Don’t say gay bill,’ warning it could lead to more suicides
Washington Post
By John Wagner
January 25, 2022


Chasten Buttigieg, an educator and husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, is speaking out against legislation advancing in Florida that critics have dubbed the “Don’t say gay bill,” arguing that it could lead to more suicides among LGBTQ youths.

“You’re essentially pushing kids back into the closet,” Chasten Buttigieg said Tuesday during an appearance on CNN. “You’re saying we can’t even talk about your families.”

In Official Washington, Chasten Buttigieg is a stranger in a (very) strange land

In a tweet last week, Buttigieg said the legislation “will kill kids,” pointing to a recent survey by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth advocacy group, which found that 42 percent of LGBTQ youths seriously considered attempting suicide during the past year.

According to CNN when asked his husband said,

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reacts to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, claiming it could lead to an increase in suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among LGBTQ youth.

The hate has spread across the country and across the world. They conservatives have learned their lesson well from the fascists in Europe in the 1930 and scapegoats to focus their anger upon.

Bills like 'Don't Say Gay' hurt LGBTQ youth already at high risk of suicide
USA Today
By Amit Paley Opinion contributor
February 10, 2022


Last week, the governor of South Dakota signed the first anti-transgender bill of 2022 into law, banning trans women and girls from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identity. While it was expected, the news is nonetheless heartbreaking, as it foreshadows an incredibly tough year ahead for LGBTQ youth.

We’re less than six weeks into 2022 and already tracking more than 150 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced across the country. Most of these bills specifically target transgender and nonbinary youth’s ability to play sports, receive gender-affirming medical care, and use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Some legislation, like the  “Don’t Say Gay Bill” being heard in Florida, would go as far as banning any discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, and require teachers to out students to their parents if they disclose to someone at school that they identify as LGBTQ.

As the largest suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth, The Trevor Project has been hearing from LGBTQ youth across our 24/7 crisis services who are expressing a wide range of emotions in response to these relentless political attacks. Many are scared and worried, and some have expressed suicidal thoughts over the laws being debated in their state.

And it’s not just the legislation on the top of young people’s minds, it’s the harmful rhetoric surrounding them. According to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project, 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth, and two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth, say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health.

The Republicans don’t care if bills like these hurt our children, they don’t care the damage that is don’t to children and the lessons it teaches them. All they care about is energizing their base with hate so they go to polls will anger in them.

How many times have you seen the Republicans waving their little blue booklet of the Constitution around, but they olny follow it when it suits them. There is the First Amendment that bans the government on limiting free speech but when it comes time to banning words like “trans, gay, lesbian, sexual orientation, and gender identity the Constitution goes out the window.