LGBTQ Orgs, Families Sue Governor DeSantis to Stop ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

Several LGBTQ advocates, organizations, families, and teachers filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the “Don’t Say Gay” law that recently passed. The parties argue that the law discriminates against LGBTQ people and their families.  

Last month, Florida state legislators passed the Parental Right in Education law, mostly known by the nickname from opponents, the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The new law prohibits educators to discuss gender identity and sexual orientation with elementary school-aged students. 

The 80-page complaint says that the new law is trying to silence and erase LGBTQ people in schools in Florida. 

“Through H.B. 1557, Florida would deny to an entire generation that LGBTQ people exist and have equal dignity,” the lawsuit reads. “This effort to control young minds through state censorship—and to demean LGBTQ lives by denying their reality—is a grave abuse of power.  

“H.B. 1557 piles one violation on top of another. It offends principles of free speech and equal protection by seeking to censor discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity that recognize and respect LGBTQ people and their families,” the lawsuit continues. 

The lawsuit also discusses the negative effects that the law has manifested in Florida public schools.  

“Faced with the law’s vague prohibitions and threat of litigation, teachers and school administrators have said that they will remove LGBTQ references from the curriculum and no longer foster or participate in discussions that touch upon LGBTQ issues,” the lawsuit says.

“LGBTQ students and parents are unsure about whether they can express or discuss their identities, and they worry about detention or other possible discipline or exclusion that may result if they do,” it states. 

Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’ communications director says in a statement that the lawsuit is a “political Hail-Mary to undermine parental rights in Florida.”  

“This calculated, politically motivated, virtue-signaling lawsuit is meritless, and we will defend the legality of parents to protect their young children from sexual content in Florida public schools,” Fenske adds. 

The lawsuit was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida by law firm Kaplan Hecker and Fink LLP and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.