On March 7th of 2022, Florida passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill championed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis. This bill was yet another attack on the school system and the rights of gay parents and their children. The bill makes it illegal for teachers to discuss anything to do with same-sex marriage. Any books or content that mentions it is banned and teachers can be sued for teaching it in schools.

Ron DeSantis, a rising Republican, has become the face of this bill and its push against gay rights. Ron DeSantis is an openly homophobic and bigoted person, as made evident with his bill, and has made this a crusade against the rights of gay people in his state and this is most definitely not where it ends.

Letting this bill pass has set the dangerous precedent that the basic rights of anyone who isn’t a straight white male could be taken away from them. The argument made by Republicans and supporters of this bill is that this education is “sexualizing school and children,” but this is thinly-veiled homophobia at best. Before the bill, there was no issue with discussions of straight couples in education, nor concerns about “sexualization,” but when it comes to same-sex couples it is “inappropriate” and not ok for children. The double standards should be glaringly evident but this is nothing new for Republican politicians.

The obvious double standards and hate toward same-sex couples have sparked outrage across the country and many people are worried about their rights and if their schools will become victims of the hate campaign. Luckily it seems that most states have retained their common sense for now and aren’t planning on banning books they don’t agree with like a certain fascist leader with a funny mustache.

These people are not patriots. They are bigots on a hate campaign to reverse the progress towards equal rights that has been made in this country. Their movement is not about the freedom or liberty their nation was founded on, but rather hate and discrimination disguised as care for children. These policies suppress children’s rights to learn about something and ostracizes anyone who may have same-sex parents or be questioning their own identity. These types of bills are dangerous and their creators are even more so.