Homophobia for political profit
By 
Makes sense for Ron DeSantis to try to advance his career in Republican politics with a bill Uncle Vlad himself would approve of:
Florida’s House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in the state’s primary schools.
The legislation — titled the Parental Rights in Education bill, but dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — will now head to the state’s Republican-held Senate, where it is expected to pass. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is running for re-election and is widely considered to be a potential 2024 presidential candidate, has previously signaled his support for the legislation and is expected to sign it into law.
Thursday’s 69-to-47 vote comes after weeks of national outrage over the measure, which has grabbed the attention of international newspapers, Hollywood actors and the White House.
[…]
But critics have said that the broad language of the legislation could open districts to lawsuits from parents who believe any conversation about LGBTQ people or issues to be inappropriate.
In an impassioned speech on the Florida House floor Thursday, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat who is gay, told lawmakers that he purposefully wore a rainbow Pride ribbon upside down on his lapel “as a symbol that LGBTQ community in Florida is in distress.”
“We are in distress because this bill is yet another attack on our community,” Smith said. “This bill goes way beyond the text on its page.It sends a terrible message to our youth that there is something so wrong, so inappropriate, so dangerous about this topic that we have to censor it from classroom instruction.”
Other opponents of the bill spoke on the House floor about the potential harm it could inflict on the state’s LGBTQ youths, citing the population’s harrowing mental health struggles.
Pretty revolting stuff. But, hey, at least he won the pandemic!
What?
Florida alone has nearly 70K dead from COVID, while Australia only has 5K and Canada 35K. https://t.co/UG2TVf6ud4— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 24, 2022