TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (TND) — LGBT activists in Florida expressed outrage Wednesday over a proposal that would ban teachers and government employees from displaying rainbow flags while on the job.
The bill by state Republicans aims to protect students from “partisan, radical ideologies” by restricting the display of symbols depicting “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint.”
Opponents of the measure, however, argue the bill borders on “authoritarianism” and leads with hate.
At a hearing of the House Constitutional Rights Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee, activists urged politicians not to pass the bill.
“Your futures are tied to your votes,” an activist dressed in drag threatened committee members. “Each yes is a tick on the clock.”
My six-year-old is gender fluid,” stated another activist. “Their existence is not political. Their identity is not political. Presenting their existence and identity is only political if you insist on passing laws that define it as such.”
“I am here to oppose this oppressive bill to call out terrible behavior and to say ‘take the boot off my face.’ This is a fascist regime,” another lamented.
The issue is the latest in a long series of debates over LGBT rights in the state. Florida in December faced two federal lawsuits over its policies regarding transgender individuals and state laws pertaining to pronoun usage. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, has become known as a staunch proponent of such measures.
The Supreme Court in November rejected a request from the DeSantis administration to uphold a law preventing children from attending “any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience, which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or specific sexual activities, lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”
The DeSantis administration appealed the ruling.
