Judge defies Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

TALLAHASSEE, Florida. A federal judge has again thrown out a lawsuit challenging a Florida law that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” that restricts the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee ruled on Wednesday that the revised lawsuit, filed by students, parents and teachers, did not show they had the legal capacity to challenge the law. The lawsuit argued that Florida’s new law was unconstitutional.

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According to the ruling, the plaintiffs had to prove that they had suffered harm that could be attributed to the new law and that could be corrected if the court decision was positive. The judge said that most of the plaintiffs’ claims for damages were related to the existence of the new law, not to its application.

Winsor dismissed an earlier version of the case in September on the same grounds, and a similar lawsuit filed in Orlando was also dismissed in October.

A report released in August by the Campaign for Human Rights, one of the country’s largest LGBTQ rights groups, and the Center for Combating Digital Hate said that hateful references to gays, lesbians and other LGBTQ people have skyrocketed online after the Republican-dominated Florida legislature passed the bill. Last spring. The law was supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican.