This May Be The (Only) Good News About Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

If you care about LGBTQ rights, then it’s hard not to be angry or depressed about what happened on Monday, when Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what he and his allies call a “parental rights bill” and its many critics are calling the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

But if you look closely enough at what happened and why, you may discover one reason for optimism.

The law, as you’re probably heard by now, establishes new rules for Florida public schools. The purpose ― in the statute’s own words ― is “prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels or in a specified manner.” That includes a prohibition on any instruction on orientation or identity, “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

(The “or” is important because that means it affects all grades, not just kindergarten through 3.)

The law also requires schools to inform parents of changes to student “mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.” If parents believe schools or school employees have violated any of the law’s terms, and if the district doesn’t address those concerns, parents can sue the schools.

The law is part of a broader assault on LGBTQ rights and equality, although DeSantis and his supporters in politics and conservative media bristle at the suggestion. To hear them tell it, this is all just common sense rule-making designed to make sure parents know what’s going on with their kids during the school day ― and to protect kids from sexualization at very young ages.

They also keep reminding everybody that the statute doesn’t include the word “gay.”

But it’s difficult to take all of their protestations seriously when officials like DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw describe the law as an “anti-grooming” measure — as in, a law designed to stop LGBTQ teachers from “recruiting” students or priming them for sexual abuse.

It’s even more difficult to take the conservative denials seriously when the law’s sponsor, state senator Dennis Baxley, says publicly he is bewildered at the rise in children who say they identify as LGBTQ ― and concerned that schools are encouraging that.

“Why is everybody coming out at school?” Baxley said during the floor debate, adding later. “There’s something wrong with how we’re emphasizing this.”

As for the bill’s ambiguity, that appears to be deliberate.

The law doesn’t define terms like “discussion” or “instruction” or “age-appropriate.” That means the prohibition could, in theory, mean a teacher was barred from acknowledging his or her own sexual orientation, or explaining why some kids in the classroom have two dads or two moms, while others do not.

And because the ultimate enforcement mechanism is lawsuits by parents, teachers can’t rely on their own judgment or even what most members of their communities think. Just one parent taking exception to something could trigger legal action.

As one Florida teacher told National Public Radio this week, “It makes me wonder, when I talk about families in my classroom, am I going to be violating this law because the children were having discussions about what their family looks like?”

The biggest fear is what the law could mean for LGBTQ youth, in part because kids might be afraid to get help when schools have an obligation to share information about mental health changes. As HuffPost’s Brittany Wong explained:

Having at least one adult with whom to share your identity is the No. 1 protective factor against suicide for LGBTQ youth. Over the past year, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide and 94% said recent political actions negatively affected their mental health, according to a report from The Trevor Project. … But LGBTQ youth who reported learning about LGBTQ people or issues at school had significantly lower odds of attempting suicide in the past year, according to the group.

This is arguably the most ferocious pushback on LGBTQ rights since 2004, when then-President George W. Bush made opposition to same-sex marriage a big part of his reelection campaign. Same-sex marriage was still quite controversial and by most accounts the attacks helped him win the presidency a second time.

But public opinion on same-sex marriage has changed a lot since then. So have attitudes about sexual orientation and gender identity more generally.

That’s why in the long run, the likes of DeSantis may be fighting a losing battle.

Just 25 years ago, Gallup found that 27% of people supported same-sex marriage. Last year, the pollsters found that 70% supported it; a massive jump in what in political years is barely a blink.

If that doesn’t get your attention, consider the polling on whether same-sex relations should be legal.

Yes, relations. There was a time when it was an open question whether the law should allow you to have same-sex sexual relations in the privacy of your own home. A Gallup poll on this question from 1977 found opinion to be split, with 43% telling Gallup it should be legal and 43% saying it shouldn’t.

Attitudes have changed for a variety of reasons, some well-understood and some unclear. And a self-reinforcing cycle may be at work here. As Americans as a whole become more accepting of its LGBTQ members, more people can be open about their orientations and identities, prompting still more non-LGBTQ Americans to reassess their own prejudices.

Not everybody reacts that way. Some, like Florida Republicans, have tried to push back. But they have to be careful because of how far public opinion has already shifted: It’s hard to attack same-sex marriage, for example, when it gets majority support even from Republicans.

And so Republicans are mostly focusing on different targets. One is schools, where they can tap into the anxiety of parents who may believe in LGBTQ equality in theory but still think of it as something “abnormal” they don’t want for their kids. In addition, many parents are already primed for anger at schools, fresh off of pandemic-related closures.

But pandemic-related anger will dissipate eventually, plus there’s a striking, unmistakable generational divide in attitudes. Over time, younger people will grow up, have more influence over the national cultural and political conversation and become parents themselves.

Such a transformation could take a long time, during which opponents of LGBTQ rights are bound to prevail frequently. They still have many structural advantages in U.S. politics, including the over-representation of rural communities and states in legislatures that allow conservatives to rule like a majority even when they are clearly in the minority.

Pushing back can make a difference, however, and there are signs of that happening already. In the past few weeks, students all over Florida have walked out of their classrooms and protested at the state capitol, in energetic shows of solidarity that went viral on social media. Their power is limited, in part because they’re still too young to vote. But that won’t be true forever.