MSNBC, CNN, celebrities slam GOP and DeSantis over Florida parental rights law
Various media pundits and celebrity figures took to the airwaves to slam conservatives and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with some pushing a false narrative that you can’t say the word ‘gay’ in the Sunshine State.
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, is considering expanding the state's controversial "Parental Rights in Education" law to middle schoolers, citing the maturity level of students.
"The one thing that I think could be looked at is we ended [the law] at grades one through three. I don’t think I’d be supportive of high school because kids in high school are hopefully a little bit more mature, at least, they should be," she told reporters earlier this month, according to Orlando-area WKMG-TV.
"But, the middle school, maybe going to sixth grade or something like that [should be looked at]," she added.
FLORIDA SENATE PRESIDENT HITS BAC AT PSAKI OVER PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL: SHE SHOULD READ THE BILL FIRST
Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community attend the "Say Gay Anyway" rally in Miami Beach, Florida on March 13, 2022. ( (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images))
The law, coined as the "Don't Say Gay" law by critics, prohibited teachers from including gender ideology and sexual education in kindergarten through third grade classrooms across the state while requiring instruction for older students to be "age appropriate" and in accordance with guidelines laid out by state law.
Passidomo, speaking to WJXT in Jacksonville, reiterated that any expansion should not include high school grades, saying she would not be "averse" to an expansion otherwise.
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo speaks to reporters in the chambers of the Florida Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. ((AP Photo/Anthony Izaguirre))
The law's supporters, including Passidomo, argued that the state should refrain from teaching genders and sexually-charged topics to students and instead leave such topics to parents altogether.
She also said parents deserve to know what is being taught in public schools, using the law as an example of how to expand their control over curriculum.
The "Parents Rights in Education" bill, which sparked outrage for its allegedly homophobic basis from the start, passed both houses of Florida's legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, in March.
DEMOCRATS CLAIM FLORIDA IS PUSHING ‘DON’T SAY GAY' BILL. HERE'S WHAT THE LEGISLATION ACTUALLY SAYS
Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community attend the "Say Gay Anyway" rally in Miami Beach, Florida on March 13, 2022. ( (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images))
Since being enacted, the law faced challenges from key organizations, including advocacy groups Equality Florida and Family Equality as well as students and teachers affiliated with public school systems from across The Sunshine State.
Federal Judge Allen Winsor tossed the organizations' lawsuit against the policy in September, but the groups revised their challenge in accordance with statements from Winsor's dismissal.
Despite attempts to brand the law as anti-LGBTQ+, a March poll from Floridians for Economic Advancement found that even a majority of Democrat-leaning voters did not support education about sexuality in the grades outlined in the legislation.
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Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
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