Recently, a so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would ban teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools, was introduced in the Florida State Legislature.
The measure would also allow parents to sue school districts if they think a violation occurred.
Laws barring trained, credentialed educational professionals from fostering the healthy and authentic development of their pupils through age-appropriate health education are bad enough.
However, a lead sponsor of the measure filed an amendment on Feb. 18 to require schools to inform parents within six weeks of learning that a student identifies as LGBTQ+.
The amendment would have allowed for no exemption in cases where there is a reason to believe outing the student would result in abuse, neglect or abandonment. While this amendment was later withdrawn amidst a fierce public outcry, the rotten core of this proposal remains intact.
As a committed ally of the LGBTQ+ community, I am absolutely disgusted by every wrinkle of this abusive proposal – one that is nothing short of an act of state-sanctioned cruelty directed toward America’s marginalized, vulnerable youth.
I am horrified by the strong likelihood that it will pass and be signed into law, and I fear the consequences could be deadly.
According to The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, at least one LGBTQ+ person between the ages of 13 and 24 attempts suicide every 45 seconds in the United States. However, because many report attempting suicide multiple times each year, The Trevor Project cautions that this already alarmingly high rate is likely an undercount.
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill is part of a nationwide assault that has reached more than a dozen statehouses, and I am not so naïve to think that this fight could not arrive at our doorstep at some point in the future.
That is why I am continuing the fight to enshrine County-level protections focused on gender identity in our Human Rights Law and am preparing legislation to convene stakeholders and experts on an LGBTQ+ Advisory Board for the purpose of investigating specific challenges the community faces here in Nassau so that we can implement solutions and meet the needs of all residents.
At a time when the LGBTQ+ community is under attack across America, I am committed to standing with you and doing all I can for as long as I am a legislator to elevate Nassau County as a beacon of acceptance and affirmation.
Arnold W. Drucker, of Plainview, was first elected to the Nassau County Legislature in 2016. He represents the 16th Legislative District in the Nassau County Legislature.
