A likely 2024 presidential candidate, DeSantis has waged a number of divisive battles — on vaccines, racial justice, face masks, highways — that have raised his national profile.
As the first openly gay Latino legislator in Florida’s history, state Rep. Carlos Smith was already an outspoken opponent of the “” bill, which Republicans had introduced under the guise of parental control — and which critics like Smith say is little more than an effort to frighten LGBTQ teachers and students into silence.
As the controversial bill headed for passage, Christina Pushaw, press secretary to Gov. Ron DeSantis,last Friday to say that the measure was in fact an “Anti-Grooming Bill,” a reference to some conservatives’ unfounded fears that frank discussions of gender and sexuality in the classroom are part of a leftist conspiracy to turn American children away from traditional gender roles and sexual behaviors.
— says nothing about the practice of grooming. Instead, it stipulates that lessons on “sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” but because Republicans control the state Legislature, Democrats have little say in the bill’s shape or outcome. It’s expected to be signed by DeSantis soon.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando in late February.
“She basically called me a pedophile,” Smith told Yahoo News in a phone conversation on Monday evening. “Literally, it’s the oldest trick in the book against LGBTQ people.” This week also saw DeSantis and his controversial surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, turn Florida into, a move denounced as dangerous by public health experts. It is unclear why DeSantis and Ladapo took the step now, with the coronavirus pandemic in an apparent wane.
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