Since 2019, a Republican supermajority in both houses of the Florida legislature has enabled the government under Governor Ron Desantis to pass many laws enforcing a conservative agenda throughout the state. Since the beginning 2023, Desantis has also been attempting to cement himself as a Republican paragon in the leadup to the 2024 elections, in which he is running for president. Desantis’ government passed over 200 laws last July alone, many of which secure conservative policies in healthcare, education, immigration, and property. These laws, which often attack the LGBTQ community, go after abortion, or reinforce racial discrimination, are a part of a dangerous precedent in this country.
A sampling of the over 200 bills passed last July include an expansion to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a bill that prohibited race and gender studies in college, bills directly attacking transgender citizens, and a bill which cut the abortion limit to six weeks. As anyone can see, there is a significant bias in these laws, which perpetuates Desantis’ and the far-right’s beliefs, without consideration for the wellbeing of citizens of the state. For example, there are no stipulations in the abortion bill for rape, incest, or pregnancies that put the mother’s life in jeopardy. This new law puts an unborn baby’s life over the life of the mother to the extent that the six week threshold is barely enough for a mother to even know they’re pregnant, much less terminate the pregnancy. The other group disproportionately attacked in these July bills is the LGBTQ+ community. The expansion of the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” has effectively banned discussion of sexual orientation and gender until high school, instituted a forced outing policy among teachers, banned teachers from using any preferred names (including nicknames), and opened the way for parents to be able to sue districts if curriculum or policy didn’t match their personal beliefs. This bill has since been expanded to ban all flags except the American flag from flying on public property.
Florida is just one out of many states to implement laws like these. Montana, Tennessee, Texas, and many more all have laws that discriminate against women and the LGBTQ+ community. Hypocritically, the far-right legislatures that have been passing these laws preach the protection of free speech and actions such as gun rights. These state legislatures, however, seem to have no trouble restricting the freedom of speech and expression in marginalized communities, especially those which go against the word of the Bible. This is a dangerous precedent to be setting with ongoing debates throughout the nation about the freedom of expression.
