The Parental Rights in Education bill was introduced in Florida, by Governor Ron DeSantis this past March and has been largely controversial since. It’s better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and mainly targets LGBTQ+ youth and teachers by prohibiting them to talk about their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Such a bill being signed into law is obscene and is unconstitutional.

It endangers queer youth and teachers by not letting them talk about their personal lives, this indirectly prevents them from coming out to people and leads to them feeling ostracized and unsafe in a place they spend upwards of seven hours a day.

It’s homophobic and discriminatory and inherently criminalizes being queer. If straight youth and staff are allowed to talk about their spouses and personal lives regarding orientation without legal consequences, so should queer students and teachers.  Queer people aren’t criminals just because they exist; they should be allowed to talk about their sheer existence without being accused of having an agenda.

Despite allegedly standing for boundaries between the parents and schools, the bill also impedes on students and teachers’ first amendment rights, which protects the freedom of speech, among other things.

Supporters of the Don’t Say Gay bill assure critics that the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation won’t be targeted, despite that being exactly what the bill is doing.

Gov. DeSantis should repeal this bill and apologize for the harm it has caused, as it is largely unpopular even with the current President condemning it. The Parental Rights in Education bill uses queer people as a scapegoat all under the guise of protecting “parental rights” in schools, it is outrageous and vile. Such a document should not be signed into law.