Led by DeSantis, GOP politicians in the Sunshine State have stood proud as they’ve defended the policies like the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — State Sen. Shev Jones stood before his colleagues in the Legislature this week amid the debate over the bill opponents dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” and opened up in a way rarely seen in the Florida state Capitol.
Jones, a Black Democrat who is the state’s first openly gay senator, told his fellow Democratic and Republican lawmakers about his experience coming out. “Living his truth,” Jones said, prompted church members to leave his father’s congregation, friends to stop speaking with him and his own family members to make jokes about him.
“Just imagine living your life of 30 years, coming to your parents and talking about who you are — and you’re lying to them about who you are,” said Jones, a 38-year-old Democrat from Miami Gardens.
He attempted to convince the GOP-led Senate to weaken the bill, officially called the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which explicitly bans teachers from leading lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade. But his words didn’t sway lawmakers, who on Tuesday approved the measure amid widespread opposition from LGBTQ supporters, including President Joe Biden.
Passage of the bill was, in many ways, the culmination of a legislative session in the nation’s third-largest state unlike any in recent memory. It was a session in which the GOP-led Legislature’s constant focus on “culture war” issues resulted in lawmakers approving policies to grant more power to parents over what their children learn, heighten scrutiny on school instruction and books, and ensure there will be turnover among local school boards, which have been frequent targets of the state GOP.
Together, the proposals, touted as banner legislation, give Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans fuel for the 2022 midterm elections as education has been thrust into the spotlight since the Covid-19 pandemic began and helped spark a backlash in the suburbs and in swing states.
For the GOP faithful in the state, the legislative action marks a moment that they have been looking forward to for a long time. They say it explains why DeSantis has burst into the national consciousness as a possible 2024 presidential contender and potential heir to the populism that propelled former President Donald Trump into office.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/13/florida-america-culture-war-00016797