Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill amendment could force schools to out LGBTQ students to parents
President Joe Biden has denounced the bill as "hateful".
Words: Alastair James; Image: Pexels
Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill could be given a new and quite frankly dangerous amendment, which would see schools forced ‘out’ LGBTQ students to their parents within six weeks of finding out the pupil is LGBTQ.
The bill (officially called The Parental Rights in Education bill and nicknamed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill) would effectively see the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity banned in elementary schools.
It’s been branded as “hateful” by the US President, Joe Biden, as well as a number of leading LGBTQ organisations who have said, if passed, it will “stigmatize LGBTQ people, isolate LGBTQ+ kids, and make teachers fearful of providing a welcoming and inclusive classroom.”
“Patently offensive”
The amendment was introduced by state Republican representative Joe Harding and would require schools to “develop a plan, using all available governmental resources, to disclose such information within six weeks after the decision to withhold such information from the parent.”
This, the amendment goes on to say, would have to be done in “an open dialogue in a safe, supportive, and judgment-free environment that respects the parent-child relationship and protects the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the student.”
Tweeting an image of the amendment, Florida Democrat Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is gay, said it amounted to “STATE-MANDATED outing of LGBTQ students to parents” adding, “This will have devastating consequences for our youth.”
An amendment was just filed by the sponsor of #DontSayGay to make it even more dangerous for vulnerable kids with a STATE-MANDATED outing of LGBTQ students to parents, specifically in cases of abuse, abandonment + neglect.
This will have devastating consequences for our youth.😢 pic.twitter.com/3s89rcMrMN
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 20, 2022
Carlos Smith also pointed to research by the LGBTQ homeless charity, The Trevor Project, which indicates that LGBTQ youth are four times as likely to seriously consider, plan, or attempt suicide than their straight peers and that at least one LGBTQ person aged between 13–24 attempts suicide every 45 seconds in the U.S.
A survey of more than 82,000 LGBTQ youth released by the charity last year revealed that only a third felt their home was an affirming place and only 50 per cent said their school was.
75 percent said they had experienced discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity at least once in their lifetime.
Speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, State Rep Michael Grieco called it “patently offensive”.
The bill is due to be debated by the State’s legislators today (Tuesday 22 February) after successfully passing through committees.
Attitude’s new-look March/April issue is out now.
