Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a
Republican, on Wednesday signed additional bills that target the
LGBTQ community.
DeSantis signed the bills during an
event at the evangelical Cambridge Christian School in Tampa that was
described by the AP as having a “campaign-like feel.”
According to the Human Rights Campaign
(HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, Florida has
enacted a record six anti-LGBTQ bills into law this year – more
than the last seven years combined – giving DeSantis a record to
run on as he is expected to seek the GOP nomination for president.
Two bills target transgender people by
prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors, making it a crime for
providers to do so, and banning gender-inclusive restrooms in
schools, public shelters, healthcare facilities, and jails.
Another bill expands Florida's “Don't
Say Gay” law to grade 8, prohibiting the instruction of sexual
orientation and gender identity in public schools. It also restricts
the discussion of personal pronouns in schools.
DeSantis also signed a bill that
prohibits minors from attending drag shows.
The bills were approved by Republicans,
who hold super-majorities in both chambers, during the legislative
session that ended two weeks ago.
HRC President Kelley Robinson denounced
the bills in a statement, saying that the “entire country should be
alarmed by Gov. DeSantis's form of hateful politics.”
“Gov. Ron DeSantis and extremist
legislators in Florida are some of the most anti-LGBTQ+ politicians
in America,” Robinson said. “DeSantis has made clear that
demonizing LGBTQ+ people will be the center of his legislative agenda
and presidential run. As a result, the rights of millions of
Floridians are being rolled back by politicians who are attacking the
LGBTQ+ community at a breakneck pace to pander to the most extreme
fringes of their base.”
“From doctors’ offices to
classrooms, they show no shame in assaulting the freedoms of those
different from them. They are trying to whitewash history and use the
power of the government to punish, erase, or attack anyone they
disagree with, including Black and LGBTQ+ communities. They are
denying transgender children and adults access to life-saving,
best-practice medical care, contradicting guidelines recommended by
every major medical association – representing over 1.3 million
doctors in the United States,” she said.
State Senator Shevrin Jones, who is
openly gay, said that the Republican narrative surrounding the bills
was disingenuous.
“They have cloaked themselves [as]
being the party of less government and parental rights, and what
we're seeing now is the total opposite,” Jones told the AP. “Every
other parent has the right to raise their child the way that they
want to as long as your child is not gay, trans, bisexual. That’s
freedom for some parents, but not for all parents.”
“If he's so confident in his
policies, don't go hiding behind signing the bills at a Christian
school or place where you're more prone to get praise for your
bigotry. Do it out in the community,” he said.
The full slate of bills takes effect on
July 1.