President Joe Biden hit out at Florida's SB 1834 , which would prevent schools from teaching what many consider to be age-inappropri...
President Joe Biden hit out at Florida's SB 1834, which would prevent schools from teaching what many consider to be age-inappropriate lessons on gender and sexual orientation.
What are the details?
On Tuesday evening, Biden tweeted, "I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.”
The president's remarks accompanied a previous tweet from the White House's Twitter account, which said, “Today, conservative politicians in Florida advanced legislation designed to attack LGBTQI+ kids. Instead of making growing up harder for young people, @POTUS is focused on keeping schools open and supporting students’ mental health.”
'You're entering a very dangerous zone ... this isn't teaching'
The bill — which has been approved by the state Senate Education Committee — advocates for parental rights in schools and states that schools may not encourage any "discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Dennis Baxley (R), told Fox News that the timing of certain discussions ought to be left up to parents.
“Some discussions are for (having) with your parents,” Baxley said. “And I think when you start having sexual-type discussions with children, you’re entering a very dangerous zone. Your awareness should pop up right away, this isn’t teaching.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday that keeping parents out of schools is dangerously detrimental to families.
“I think that what you’ve seen in Florida, parts of the country, is schools keeping parents out of these decisions,” DeSantis said at a press conference Tuesday. “And I don’t see how you can do that.”
“I also think one of the things that I think the legislature is getting at is everything should be age-appropriate,” he continued. “My goal is to educate kids on the subjects, math, reading, science, all the things that are so important. I don’t want the schools to kind of be a playground for ideological disputes.”
Christina Pushaw, the governor's press secretary, added that the bill doesn't outright ban all related school discussion.
“There is nothing in this bill preventing anyone from saying gay,'' she said. "It’s about age-appropriate education on gender and sexual orientation."
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