White House accuses Ron DeSantis of canceling culture after Florida expands ‘don’t say gay law’ that Karine Jean-Pierre says censors lessons in what is mean about being ‘a free country’
- The White House on Thursday criticized the expansion of the controversial Florida law
- It means that the ‘don’t say gay’ law applies to all students up to the age of 18
- Karine Jean-Pierre said censorship is not how education works in ‘a free country’
The White House on Thursday issued a strong condemnation of expanding Florida’s “don’t say gay” law, essentially accusing the state of censoring classes in an inverted form of cancel culture.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the move by the Florida Board of Education as “dystopian.”
A day earlier, it passed a ban on classroom teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, extending regulations already in place through third grade.
It marked another victory for Governor Ron DeSantis as he paves the way for an anticipated presidential run.
Jean-Pierre aimed her fire at the decision from the White House dais, calling out what she saw as Republican hypocrisy.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the expansion of Florida’s “don’t say gay” law, accusing the state of censoring classes in an inverted form of cancel culture
The Parental Rights in Education Act — dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents — was signed into law last year by Governor Ron DeSantis and sparked a storm across the country
“With the threat of having their licenses revoked, gay teachers have been forced to remove photos of their husbands from their desks and censor their teaching materials,” she said.
Censoring our classes is not how public education is supposed to work in a free country.
“Conservative politicians like to complain about the so-called ‘cancellation culture’, while they threaten teachers to lose their jobs if they teach something that the MAGA extremists don’t agree with.”
The Parental Rights in Education Act — dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” Act by opponents — was signed into law last year by the governor and sparked a storm across the country. Critics argue that it can be harmful to children who identify as homosexual transgender.
While the previous version of the law banned teaching these subjects to children ages 5 to 8, the expansion means it now applies to students up to age 18.
The new rule — which will now apply to grades four through twelve in the state after previously being capped at third grade — comes as DeSantis is touring the early primary competition state of South Carolina, where he ranted against ‘awakened’ issues such as transgenderism.
Meanwhile, Republican voters are still awaiting the announcement of his long-awaited presidential nominee as he ramps up his war with Disney and Donald Trump continues his attacks.
The Florida Department of Education on Wednesday passed a rule that expands Ron DeSantis’ so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law to ban the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in all public school classrooms
A Trump super-PAC released an ad last week calling DeSantis “pudding fingers” — referring to claims he ate chocolate pudding with his hands during a flight — and criticized his earlier calls for Social Security and Medicare to be scrapped.
“It’s wrong for a teacher to tell a student that maybe they were born in the wrong body or that their gender is a choice,” DeSantis said Wednesday morning during his remarks in Charleston, South Carolina.
“So let’s not let that happen in Florida,” he praised. “Disney objects to that, so be it, we’ll do that.”
Disney’s then-CEO came out against parental rights in education after DeSantis signed into law, sparking what has now been a year-long war between the company and Florida’s governor.
The DeSantis administration last month proposed expanding the law as part of its agenda to make Florida the “Citadel of Liberty” where “wake to die.”
DeSantis has not commented on the proposal.
“If you can’t show them the light, make them feel the heat,” he said Wednesday at his South Carolina event, referring to the passing of several laws on the Republican agenda during his time as governor.
The governor previously raised questions about the law to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., who said the new rule was intended to clear up confusion surrounding the existing law and emphasize that teachers should not deviate from existing curricula.
“We’re not removing anything here,” Diaz Jr. said. Wednesday. “All we’re doing is setting expectations so that it’s clear to our teachers that they have to teach by the standards.”
The DeSantis administration introduced the proposal last month as part of its agenda to make Florida the “Citadel of Liberty”