[ad_1]
Op-eds do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of The Daily Free Press. They are the opinions of the author(s) only.
Weston Moran (COM ’25) is a second-year public relations student in the College of Communication, where he serves as student body president.
“It’ll be fun!” My friends asked me to join them on an upcoming trip to Key West, Florida. Financially, it didn’t make sense. But most of all, as a gay man, I am not welcome there. “I refuse to travel to Florida,” I told them. “I just won’t do it.”
There is always a bit of confusion when I explain to people who refuse to travel to Florida. This personal ban began last year as Florida ramped up its gay laws.
Passed by both the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, the Florida Parental Rights to Education Act takes effect on July 1, 2022. The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law is blatantly hostile and exclusionary to LGBTQIA+ individuals and families. in Florida.
Officially named Bill CS/CS/HB 1557 in the Florida Legislature, the bill prohibits discussions about sexuality and gender identity in Florida elementary schools and restricts discussions around these topics in other classrooms.
According to the Florida Senate website, the bill aims to “strengthen [the] The fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children”.
The bill does this by explicitly banning conversations around sexual orientation in Section 8.3: “In the classroom, instruction on the sexual orientation or gender identity of school personnel or third parties may not exist from kindergarten through 3rd grade,” calling these topics “developmentally inappropriate.”
More recently, starting in April 2023, the Florida Board of Education expanded these “don’t say gay” restrictions to 12th grade.
According to the amendment, “in grades 4 through 12, instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity is not expressly required by state academic standards … or the student’s parent has the option to exclude the student from the course unless it is part of a reproductive health course or health education.”
Basically, the bill is trying to ban all conversations related to LGBTQIA+ topics in schools. Newsflash, Florida: That’s impossible.
As the LGBTQIA+ community becomes more accepted across the United States, the number of out-of-the-closet LGBTQIA+ people in the United States is increasing. Florida had a total LGBTQ population (age 13+) of 886,000 in 2020, according to a study by the Williams Institute in Los Angeles, California. Of these, 24% are currently raising children, according to the Williams Institute.
Just because Florida kids don’t hear the word “gay” from their teachers doesn’t mean they don’t see members of the LGBTQIA+ community every day in their families, at the park, at the grocery store, or with friends. Both of their parents are of the same sex.
But violence against the LGBTQIA+ community has continued since last year. Just earlier this month, the Florida Senate passed Bill 254.
of Human rights campaign Dubbed Bill 254, it is an “extreme, unprecedented attack on transgender people, their health care and their families, and health care providers.” The bill is a ban on gender-affirming care and would strip parental rights from transgender parents supporting their children.
right now, Florida Equity“A civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.” Travel advisory warning Florida for LGBTIA+ people. Now, I not only don’t want to go to Florida, I don’t want to. And you don’t deserve it.
As citizens of Boston, we must show Floridian politicians that the dangerous legislation passed in Florida in recent months has no place in the United States. To do this, I urge all of you to block Florida’s economy in any way you can. Yes, it means not traveling there.
As the Massachusetts school holidays approach and summer is just around the corner, I urge you to take a vacation in the Sunshine State.
Governor Ron DeSantis, a supporter of this gay law, prides himself on Florida’s tourism numbers. In the year
Let’s show DeSantis and the Florida Legislature that they will lose a large portion of their revenue without us. According to the state’s “official tourism marketing corporation,” Florida Visitors, “Florida’s visitors contribute $101.9 billion to Florida’s economy.
If we ban non-Floridians from traveling to Florida in response to their increasingly anti-LGBTQIA+ laws, we can show them that this bill is not only outdated and homophobic, but stupid.
To be sure, anti-LGBTQIA+ Floridians can demand First Amendment rights, particularly those relating to freedom of religion and the establishment and expression of free speech. They may state that being LGBTQ and/or talking about it is against their religion.
For this, I also invoke the articles of religion as a defense. Have you ever heard of separation of church and state? I don’t care if you are religious, but your religious beliefs cannot creep into Florida’s public, government policy.
Religion aside, any argument against being LGBTQIA+ is simply based on ignorance. Why do we teach our children ignorance? If you have a problem, bring your kids home, you bastards.
So next time you’re planning a vacation, avoid Florida. Go somewhere else. Because Florida and DeSantis don’t have to see a dime of our money until they agree to say “gay.”
[ad_2]
Source link
