In a move which reinforces the hard-line agenda of Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the Republican-controlled Florida House of Representatives has passed two bills aimed at banning diversity programs in colleges and blocking the use of pronouns that do not correspond to someone’s biological sex. The first bill bans classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation up to the eighth grade, and prohibits schools from using certain types of books. It requires that students attend bathroom facilities which match their sex rather than their gender identity. The second bill outlaws the use of improper pronouns when referring to people in the workplace. These two bills have already passed in the Senate. Governor DeSantis has also indicated that he will sign them into law, leaving many alarmed by this hard-line conservative agenda.
The bills have been contentious from the outset and have been criticised for being divisive, and for encouraging hate and exclusion and lacking grace and compassion toward marginalised communities. While the Florida Republicans argue that they aim to prevent efforts to sexualise children with an agenda aimed at confusing them, many believe the bills run contrary to the principles of inclusion and diversity. With Governor DeSantis widely expected to announce his presidential candidacy after the legislative session ends this week, passage of the bills is clearly designed to appeal to Republican voters who favour a harder, right-leaning policy and to distinguish DeSantis from everyday politicians.
Florida is one of at least a dozen states to have proposed more than 30 bills this year alone, as Republicans seek to rally their base ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The new policies target some of the most contentious issues of the day, including race, gender, sexual orientation, and education. For example, the Senate has passed legislation expanding the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prevents the use of pronouns that do not match a person’s biological sex. It also strengthens parental challengers to school textbooks they deem inappropriate.
As these bills have progressed through the legislature, Democrats have been highly critical of the rightward shift in policy, branding it as a message of “hate and exclusion and punishment”. They have argued that these bills will inevitably lead to marginalisation of already marginalised communities, creating a further distance between them and mainstream society. Nonetheless, as the Florida legislative session draws to a close, Florida Republicans have placed down a significant marker for their party’s future direction. Whether these measures attract the same amount of controversy as those they seek to replace remains to be seen.
