DeSantis slams 'woke' Disney after CEO condemns parents' rights bill
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the Walt Disney Company as "woke" on Thursday after the company came out against a Republican-led parental rights bill in the state that progressives have claimed is anti-LGBTQ.
The Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief was accused of misunderstanding the Constitution Monday on Twitter after saying Florida "faces new restrictions on First Amendment rights."
"DeSantis’ ‘free state of Florida’ faces new restrictions on First Amendment rights," the Miami Herald headline from Mary Ellen Klas reads. "Free speech will be undergoing some changes in what Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared the ‘free state of Florida,’" the piece says, adding that there were multiple bills heading to the governor's desk, and that they would determine "what is acceptable speech."
One of the bills in Florida's legislature, HB 1557, and what many critics call the "Don't Say Gay" bill, aims to prohibit discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten, first, second and third grade classrooms.
DEMOCRATS CLAIM FLORIDA IS PUSHING ‘DON’T SAY GAY' BILL. HERE'S WHAT THE LEGISLATION ACTUALLY SAYS
The Miami Herald article charged that if the bills are passed, "teachers will be barred from any instruction that makes students feel they bear personal responsibility for historic wrongs because of their race, color, sex or national origin. Employers could be sued for training programs that make employees feel guilty for historic wrongs. And any instruction about sexuality or gender between kindergarten and third grade, or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for other students, could open a district up to sanctions and lawsuits."
A school bus sits parked in Columbus, New Mexico, on April 11, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The crux of the article was challenged on Twitter, as many noted "school curricula have always been regulated by the states."
"Perhaps a class on what the First Amendment is and does would be wise before writing ignorantly about it," Jim Hanson, author and Executive Director of America Matters, said.
Another, Giancarlo Sopo, a political commentator and PR strategist, said the argument was absurd.
"There has never been ‘free speech’ when it comes to public schools," he said.
States determine what is taught in public schools and "they also decide what is not taught," Sopo added. "The 1A limits speech restrictions on citizens, not on state speech."
The press secretary for Florida's Department of Health, Jeremy Redfern, also echoed these arguments, saying that "limiting what the government can teach" in schools was not restricting First Amendment speech.
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference in Lakeland, Florida, on May 28, 2021. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Christina Pushaw, DeSantis' press secretary, also said that school curricula didn't fall under protected speech.
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez is among the proponents who have argued the education bill is about protecting parental rights.
"This bill is about parental rights," she said in a recent appearance on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle." "It's about making sure that children are not indoctrinated."
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"Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards," the bill reads.
Group of elementary school kids running in a school corridor (iStock)
The bill also requires parents to be notified "if there is a change in the student's services or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being and the school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student."
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