The governor of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, has signed a law that banned the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation to children. The ban applied to both kindergarten and primary school, up to and including the third stage. Now the law has been extended to apply to students up to and including the twelfth grade, reports ABC News. That means high school. Florida Governor Ron De Santis signed the first version of the law on March 28, 2022. Photo: Douglas R. Clifford / AP Will protect children The law is called “Parental Rights in Education”. Several parents have expressed a desire to protect their children from what they perceive to be harmful teaching at school. As far as the youngest children are concerned, there is therefore a total ban on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity. For the higher grades there is a ban, but with some exceptions. The new law states the following: “For grades four through twelve, it is forbidden to teach about sexual orientation or gender identity, unless the teaching is expressly required due to the state’s academic standards … or is part of teaching about reproductive health, from which the pupil’s parents can demand that the pupil be exempted.” Criticized law Critics of the law have dubbed it “Don’t Say Gay”, in Norwegian “Ikke si homo”. They believe it is an attack on sexual minorities, and that it prevents teaching about the history and literature related to LGBTQ identities. Press secretary at the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, has gone to great lengths in her condemnation of the law, writes the AP news agency. – This is part of a disturbing and dangerous trend – across the country, LGBTQ people are affected by bills like this. This is wrong in every way, said Jean-Pierre. Democrat Michele Rayner (in red sweater) with her partner Bianca Goolsby. They were among the many who protested the first version of the law in March 2022. Photo: Martha Asencio-Rhine / AP President Joe Biden has described the law as “hateful”. The Democrats have therefore criticized the law for being anti-LGBTQ. While the Republicans receive support from, among other things, Christian conservative circles. Those who support the law believe it is harmful for children to hear about different sexual orientations and gender identities. “There is no reason why teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity should be part of public education up to the twelfth grade,” Rachel Scott, a spokeswoman for Governor DeSantis, told ABC News in March. Making his mark in the fight against the politically correct It is expected that Ron DeSantis will fight against, among others, Donald Trump to become the Republicans’ next presidential candidate. Now he uses Florida as a showcase for his politics. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks in South Carolina on April 19. It is expected that he will run as a presidential candidate for the Republicans. Photo: SEAN RAYFORD / AFP – Governor DeSantis has as his slogan that “Florida is the state where political correctness is stopped”. DeSantis has made Florida the spearhead in the fight against all allegedly left-wing radical ideas, including the LGBTQ movement, says associate professor of political science and US expert Hilmar Mjelde. – How important is it for Ron DeSantis to distinguish himself in such matters? – These cases have made DeSantis a political celebrity in the USA. While Trump is tweeting, DeSantis is putting his anti-LGBTQ policies into practice. This has made him the new “wonderboy” of the right. Hilmar Mjelde, associate professor of political science, University of Western Norway Mjelde says there is a culture war going on in the USA, also outside of Florida. And that there are similar tendencies in other states, such as Tennessee. – So-called identity politics, which is about lifting up and promoting ethnic and sexual minorities, is the number one contentious issue in the USA these days. The fight is especially in schools, Mjelde believes. – Teaching about racism and sexuality in particular has in many ways become the number 1 issue in the US. The Republicans believe that the schools engage in radical indoctrination of children and young people, and are fighting back with state power.
ttn-69
Florida bans teaching about sexual minorities – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
