FORT WALTON BEACH — The next generation of Okaloosa County voters took a stand Monday against Gov. Ron DeSantis and lawmakers who voted this year in support of legislation best known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“We Say Gay” was the cheerful battle cry of about 50 Fort Walton Beach High School students and a handful of teachers and community members who added their voices to the many speaking out against the bill, which attempts to limit classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity.
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“We understand that love is love and everybody deserves love and we respect everyone’s right to say what they want to say inside or outside of school,” said Lauren Sprenkle, who hatched the idea of holding a rally to let DeSantis know where she and her classmates stand.
Lest local elected officials who voted in favor of the bill — all of them did — think differently, Sprenkle and her friends, many of whom are members of the high school’s Gay Straight Alliance, know and very well comprehend the wording of the bill.
They knew that while the bill outright states “a school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade three,” it goes on to add “or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
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CNN commentator Brandon Tensley termed the legislative wordsmithing of the second sentence “tactically imprecise.”
Sprenkle agreed.
“It’s very vague and opens up a lot that can impact anyone under 18,” she said. “That can lead to a lot of inappropriate and uncomfortable situations.”
The legislation not only bans what teachers can say in front of certain age groups and in certain situations, HB 1557 and SB 1834 — officially titled the Parental Rights in Education acts — also give parents the right to sue school districts at the school district’s expense and to possibly secure court costs and attorney’s fees.
The bill dictates that schools respond to any parental concerns over issues of what they believe to be faculty overreach within seven calendar days and resolve them within 30 days to avoid legal action.
DeSantis and the majority of Republicans in Tallahassee have supported the measure since its introduction, and it appears a better than safe bet that the governor will sign it into law.
“We’re going to make sure that parents are able to send their kids to kindergarten without having some of this stuff injected into their school curriculum,” DeSantis said at a recent press conference.
The governor’s spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, went even further in defense of the bill than her boss. She tweeted out a message calling the “Don’t Say Gay” bill “the anti-grooming bill”
“If you’re against the anti-grooming bill, you are probably a groomer, or at least you don’t denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children,” Pushaw wrote. “Silence is complicity. This is how it works, Democrats, and I didn’t make the rules.”
But the legislation has no shortage of detractors either. Disney CEO Bob Chapek came under fire from DeSantis and other conservatives after announcing the company would pause all political donations in opposition to the Don’t Say Gay legislation.
Sen. Shev Jones, Florida’s sole openly gay senator, cried in addressing his fellow lawmakers prior to passage of the bill. He asked them to consider the message they would send to the state’s youth and the harm they could inflict on a vulnerable population.
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State Rep. Patt Maney, R-Shalimar, who represents South Okaloosa County, warned critics of the Don’t Say Gay “don’t fall for the negative talking point.”
“The word ‘gay’ is never mentioned. The bill protects the rights of parents to be the ones who discuss sexuality with their children,” he said in a text.
The office of state Rep. Jayer Williamson, who also represents a portion of Okaloosa County, did not respond to a request for comment on his support for the bill or the Monday protest.
Sprenkle, who expressed concerns for a cousin of hers who could be negatively impacted by passage of the Don’t Say Gay legislation, said she was “ecstatic” to see how many of her friends and fellow students gathered with her to protest the bill’s contents.
Educator Cyndi Stone held up a sign Monday that played on the school theme, which states “Fort Walton Beach High School, where every student is known and valued.”
“Fort Walton Beach High School, where, by the order of the governor, some of my students are known and valued but others are kept in the closet,” Stone’s sign said.
She wanted it made clear that the sign was intended as a barb for the governor and that Fort Walton Beach administrators had been supportive of Monday’s event and the formation four years ago of the Gay Straight Alliance, a student-led organization.
Sam Parkes and David Simmons drove from Niceville to join the high school protest. They are members of PFLAG, a group that offers, according to a business card, “support, education and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people and those who love them.”
“We support you and we want your school to be a safe space,” Parkes told the protesters “We want you to know you are loved, appreciated and embraced. … I see you and appreciate you.”
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism