A letter reportedly circulating among Florida teachers is highlighting a thought-provoking sabotage of the state’s controversial new “Don’t Say Gay†law.
Since it’s now illegal to address gender identity or sexual orientation issues in schools for students from kindergarten through third grade, the letter recommends referring to all students as “they†and “them†to avoid “gendered pronouns†like “he†and “she.â€
Also, “Mr.†and “Mrs.†should clearly be dropped for all teachers to conform with the law, the letter argues.
The strategy was spelled out in a “template†letter for teachers in Palm Beach County, according to the right-wing Moms for Liberty organization, which obtained a copy of the memo. The group posted the template on its Twitter site, and it’s now tearing through social media.
The “Don’t Say Gay†Florida law in fact does not mention the word “gay†anywhere in the text. And since it now bans addressing gender identity and sexual orientation issues in lower grades, the law could convincingly be understood to apply to all genders and sexual orientations.
Moms for Liberty called on parents in its tweet to “take a stand†against the perspective in the letter. But many responses on Twitter pointed out that ignoring all gender identities and sexual orientation appears to now be the law.
Several LGBTQ advocacy groups and families on Thursday filed a joint federal lawsuit against Florida over the state’s “Don’t Say Gay†law, arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional and has already begun harming children and families.
Check out the letter, Moms for Liberty’s response … and the takedowns here:
