President Joe Biden on Tuesday
condemned a proposed bill in Florida dubbed “Don't Say Gay.”
Biden responded to the bill after it
cleared a Senate panel.
“I want every member of the LGBTQI+
community – especially the kids who will be impacted by this
hateful bill – to know that you are loved and accepted just as you
are,” Biden said in a tweet. “I have your back, and my
Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety
you deserve.”
The bill prohibits discussion about
sexual orientation and gender identity in a school setting. Other
provisions in the bill would require school administrators to notify
parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ at school, effectively
outing students to their parents.
The measure has cleared committees in
the Florida House and Senate, and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis
has signaled his support for the bill.
In a press release, Equality Florida,
the state's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, said that DeSantis was
taking a page from Anita Bryant's playbook. Bryant was an outspoken
opponent of gay rights in the 1970s, often claiming that such rights
put children at risk.
“Governor Ron DeSantis is taking a
page from Anita Bryant's playbook, using anti-LGBTQ legislation like
'Don't Say Gay' as a springboard to serve his national political
ambitions,” the group said. “He is willing to inflict harm on the
most vulnerable in our state in order to shore up his extremist
base.”