On Friday, the Parental Rights in Education bill, what critics dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, took effect in Florida.
The bill restricts classroom instruction on sexuality for children in kindergarten to the third grade, and the left, including the mainstream media and President Biden, already attempted to induce a moral panic on the first day it took effect.
On Friday afternoon, the Washington Post published an article titled “Florida law limiting LGBTQ discussions takes effect — and rocks schools”
The article cites statements from the White House and the Biden administration’s Department of Education that claim the bill has already had a chilling effect on LGBT expression in elementary schools.
“Already, there have been reports that ‘Safe Space’ stickers are being taken down from classrooms. Teachers are being instructed not to wear rainbow clothing. LGBTQI+ teachers are being told to take down family photos of their husbands and wives—cherished family photos like the ones on my own desk. — and about.” The White House claims.
Left-wing Twitter users followed up with hysterical claims, with one user saying that Florida had “banned the rainbow”
The Sunshine State ☀️ has banned the Rainbow 🌈.
— LoveMeNot (@MoreBoogirl2) July 1, 2022
The White House followed up with a statement that encouraged parents to file discrimination complaints against teachers and school districts if they believed they were being singled out by the law.
Not two paragraphs later, the author of the article admits that the claims she amplified from the White House are false as the Orange County Public Schools legal department issued a clarification saying that the bill only restricts class instruction, meaning that LGBT teachers can still put photos of their families in their classrooms. The school district’s legal department also clarified that the bill does not specifically target LGBT people.
Shannon Sprowls, the wife of Florida Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls, pushed back against the Biden administration’s claims on Twitter.
Proud of my husband @ChrisSprowls & Rep @josephbharding for standing their ground to protect our children in grades K-3 from being sexualized. It should be the one thing that all humans are unified on- protecting our children. #readthebill https://t.co/5WYT3q7qUy
— Shannon Sprowls (@ShannonSprowls) July 2, 2022
Alex Lanfranconi, communications director for the Florida Education Department, also disputed the claims from “activists and teachers unions”, saying that they were “creating a false narrative to sow confusion among the public.”
So far, it seems like that is the case.
One journalist at the Sun Sentinel tacitly admitted that the moral panic over the bill was dishonest, calling its nickname “great branding”. DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw and others called him out for it.
Senior Journalist at @SunSentinel pic.twitter.com/FJP44nNyJD
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 1, 2022
Pushaw didn’t mince words about Biden’s Press Secretary either, saying that she has ‘blatantly lied about my boss (Ron DeSantis) from the White House Briefing Room”.
I’m not going to defend her, she has blatantly lied about my boss from the White House briefing room. But, Karine was not set up to succeed. Biden gave her this job as his approval collapses and the country faces multiple crises.
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 1, 2022
