Liberals and Democrats have been protesting the passage of Florida's new parental rights legislation for more than three weeks, using the lie that it's a "don't say gay" bill.
But the need for such a law was confirmed just within the last couple days.
The law simply protects Parental Rights in Education, according to its title, and "prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels," which are kindergarten through third grade.
Its need was confirmed Tuesday when an openly gay Florida teacher complained that he could no longer discuss his love life with his students — his kindergarten students.
Cory Bernaert told MSNBC that "We should be able to have discussions and that's what we're encouraged to do in kindergarten. Personally, because my kids do have questions, they want to know who my partner is and pictures outside the classroom and I should be able to speak to them."
On Monday, an Austin, Texas, fourth grade teacher offered proof, without intending to, that maybe the Florida law doesn't go far enough. She claimed that nearly two-thirds of her students have "come out" as something other than heterosexual — gay, trans or whatever.
"Out of the 32 students I teach, 20 of them are LGBTQIA+ and have come out to me," she claimed. "I feel that we need to do better — for them. To affirm our students, I think it would only be appropriate and right to publicly announce what we had this morning was a PRIDE parade."
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law Monday, and brought to the signing ceremony a young mother who also confirmed the law's necessity — her daughter was being groomed by school officials to transition into a boy behind her parents' back.
DeSantis posted a video of the mother's testimony on Twitter, along with this message:
"The bill I signed today protects Florida parents like January Littlejohn," he began.
"School officials manipulated her daughter to 'transition,' calling her a male name & pronouns without January's knowledge or consent. This is wrong & today's legislation will ensure it doesn't happen again."
Despite its need and innocuous language, Democrats, media and even businesses denounced it.
Florida Senate Democrats announced on Twitter that "We've got one thing to say to our GOP colleagues — GAY!" and attached a cringy video depicting them marching through the hall repeatedly shouting "gay."
You would think lawmakers would actually read a bill before commenting on it. But cries of the "don't say gay" bill soon crossed the Florida state line and even entered the White House. For example:
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "This cruel legislation is an affront to our nation's cherished values and sends a harmful message to our children."
• White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president "and his administration stand with LGBTQI+ students everywhere, including in Florida where they have passed hateful legislation targeting vulnerable students."
• Oregon Democratic Gov. Kate Brown tweeted Monday that she was "horrified and outraged by the anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation that was just signed in Florida ..."
• New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote, "#DontSayGay is an attack on children, families, and our universal values of human dignity and respect."
If they can't be nice to the other kids, can they at least play in their own sandbox?
The Walt Disney Co. released a statement Monday claiming that the bill "should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts ..."
DeSantis returned fire the next day.
"For Disney to come out and put a statement and say that the bill should have never passed and they are going to actively work to repeal it — I think, one, was fundamentally dishonest," he said. "But two, I think that crossed the line."
Each of the bill's detractors have either never taken the time to read it, making their criticism dishonest, or worse, are aware that it's a parental rights law, meant to protect children at an age when they're most vulnerable, but they don't care.
In 1996 then-first lady Hillary Clinton wrote a book called, "It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us," claiming that raising children is a communal responsibility.
In response, then-Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., penned, "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good." He argued that if America is to succeed, it has to reject Big Government controlling our lives, and recognize the importance of the family unit as the ultimate decision-maker.
And that's what the Florida parental rights bill is about — getting back to basics.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter who can often be found honing his skills at the range. Read Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.