Florida advances gender identity and defamation bills
TALLAHASSEE, Florida. – Florida Republicans on Tuesday put forward a proposal to ban sexual orientation and gender identity classes in the classroom through eighth grade, expanding a controversial law critics call Don’t Say Gay.
A bill that has been approved by a House subcommittee still needs to be approved by another committee before it goes to the full House. A separate House subcommittee approved a bill to make it easier to prosecute journalists for defamation, a priority for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who often criticizes what he calls “outdated media.”
The education measure will also prohibit school staff or students from addressing people with pronouns that do not match the person’s gender.
Florida came under scrutiny last year over the so-called “Don’t Say You’re Gay” law, which bans the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis has been a vocal defender of the law in his campaign against what he calls an awakened ideology in education, a position he has leaned heavily on as he prepares to launch his anticipated presidential candidacy.
The proposal, approved on Tuesday, would expand the classroom ban on sexual orientation and gender identity from preschool to eighth grade.
The bill also prohibits schools from asking for a student’s preferred pronouns, and prohibits staff from providing their own preferred pronouns. Republicans on the committee rejected an amendment to the bill that would allow a teacher to use a student’s preferred pronoun if a parent gives formal permission.
“This bill is against freedom, against freedom. It’s not about parental rights, it’s not about children’s rights. it’s about scoring political points. It’s about power and control,” said Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon.
Similarly, Democrats said the defamation bill would reduce media protections and speech in the US Constitution, which has been called an abuse of public power.
The legislation, sponsored by Republican Alex Andrade, among other things, declares statements made by an anonymous source allegedly false because they fall under a defamation suit unless the reporter reveals who the source is. He said that this does not mean that people cannot criticize politicians and others, but rather that the media cannot use knowingly false information to deliberately harm someone.
“I can’t sue anyone for defamation just because they called me a murderer because that was the easiest way to summarize their attitude towards my COVID policy,” Andrade said. “This is just a blatant, stupid and childish statement. You have the right to make mistakes in America.”
A long list of speakers representing groups such as the Open Government Watchers, the First Amendment Foundation and the Florida Press Association called on lawmakers to vote against the defamation bill, saying it would have a chilling effect on the media.
And Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell accused Republicans of being hypocritical, saying they usually seek to make it harder for people to file lawsuits against private companies. He also said the proposal would harm the ability of journalists to conduct investigations.
“It’s spurring lawsuits in the Legislature, whose goal so far … has been to reduce litigation,” said Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell. “This is an abuse of power and a violation of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, not to mention the US and Florida constitutions.”
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