They’re busy in Florida passing culture war bills that Gov. Da Doo Wrong Wrong DeSantis hopes will boost his presidential ambitions. The Florida house passed a bill that is euphemistically called the Parental Rights In Education Act. The sentient among us call it the Don’t Say Gay bill.
It muzzles teachers and allows offended parents to sue. Remember when Republicans were against frivolous lawsuits?
Just Say Gay.
Instant Update: The Florida state senate just passed the Don’t Say Gay bill. The Governor is expected to sign it. Ugh, just ugh.
Team DeSantis got extra ugly last week as they equated saying gay with pedophilia in this Tweet by the Governor’s press secretary:
If you’re against the Anti-Grooming Bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don’t denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children. Silence is complicity. This is how it works, Democrats, and I didn’t make the rules.
— Christina Pushaw 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) March 4, 2022
I say Pshaw on Pushaw. That’s some QAnon shit you’re pushing there. You should consider joining the fakakta freedom convoy, which is so full of Q-shit that their eyes are turning brown. Apologies for the junior high school level humor but I am so sick of the culture wars that I want to scream:
Just Say Gay.
Shapiro wrote a post this morning about the Russia-Ukraine war called Back To The Future. The same goes for the Don’t Say Gay bill. It reminds me of this 1978 California ballot initiative:
It was sponsored by State Senator John Briggs and supported by this notorious Floridian and orange juice pitch-chick:
Proposition 6 went down in flames in part because of opposition from Ronald Reagan who was still in his libertarian conservative phase. That changed by 1980 when he started paying lip service to the religious right.
I posted the Anita Bryant Disney image because the Mouse is being a louse on the Don’t Say Gay bill according to the good people at Popular Information:
Disney is happy to profit off the LGBTQ community. For example, it serves as a host for Gay Days, “an Orlando gathering that generally attracts over 150,000 people each June.” Disney offers a full array of LGBTQ-themed clothing and accessories available for purchase.
<SNIP>
In response to calls to action and protests by the LGBTQ community, Disney issued a statement to Good Morning America on March 3. Disney’s statement pointedly did not reference the Don’t Say Gay bill at all. Instead, the company asserted it should remain focused on producing “inspiring content” which could make the “biggest difference.”
I guess you could call that the Modern Family defense, which inspires discontent. It turns out that the guy in charge of political shit at the Mouse is a GOP louse: Geoff Morrell. Disney used to oppose anti-LBTQ measures, now they’re falling back on Mitch and Cam.
Things are beyond awkward in the Sunshine State right now.
You won’t be surprised to hear that there are other states considering Don’t Say Gay bills. Bad ideas spread like COVID in red states. Come on down: Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Oy just oy.
Repeat after me: Just Say Gay.
I expect the worst of Ron DeSantis and the Florida lege. I’m more disappointed in Disney. They’re letting down their LGBTQ customers by trying to have it both ways with the Don’t Say Gay bill. Stop being a louse, Mouse.
The last word goes to Return to Forever:
