Florida's Ron DeSantis Sued Over 'Don't Say Gay' Law - Bloomberg
An LGBTQ civil rights group sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over what they describe as the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, accusing the Republican of trying to “control young minds” through government censorship
The law, which prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, violates the U.S. Constitution by preventing LGBTQ individuals from living “their true identities in school,” Equality Florida said in a complaint filed Thursday in Tallahassee.
“Florida has not only taken a giant step backwards, but it has done so at the expense of our children, the most vulnerable members of society,” Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for the group, said in a statement. “It is hard to imagine anything more offensive to our constitutional system than treating one group of school kids as second class based solely on who they are or who their parents are.”
The lawsuit comes amid a growing nationwide battle over LGBTQ rights, particularly in regards to transgender youth and trans women and girls in sports.
DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin declined to comment on the claims in the lawsuit but said in an emailed statement that the legislation “does not prohibit student-prompted discussion.”
“This law is designed to protect the right of a parent to know about and direct conversations about gender and sexuality with their children, and it is designed to protect young children in kindergarten through third grade from inappropriate content,” Griffin said. “This law does not single out any particular group, orientation, or identity.”
DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, signed the bill March 28, drawing criticism from companies including Walt Disney Co. and concern that the law could hurt business and tourism in the state.
According to the lawsuit, the new state ban is an “an unlawful attempt to stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools. It seeks to do so by imposing a sweeping, vague ban covering any instruction on ‘sexual orientation and gender identity,’ and by constructing a diffuse enforcement scheme designed to maximize the chilling effect of this prohibition.”
Equality Florida is represented in the suit by National Center for Lesbian Rights, which successfully sued to block similar laws in Utah, South Carolina and Arizona.
The case is Equality Florida v. DeSantis, 4:22-cv-00134, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida (Tallahassee).
source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-31/desantis-sued-by-lgbtq-rights-group-over-don-t-say-gay-law
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