Three non-governmental organizations and a law firm challenged in court on behalf of several families the controversial Florida law known as “Don’t Say Gay”which prohibits talking regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten and early elementary school.
The NGO Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reported on Tuesday the filing of the lawsuit once morest HB 1557, signed by the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, on March 28 and officially known as “Parental Rights in Education”.
This law prevents teachers from addressing gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten and first two grades and empowers parents to file lawsuits once morest the school district and receive damages if they believe there have been violations.
The lawsuit was filed in the federal courts for the Middle District of Florida, headquartered in Orlando, with a view to preventing the law from taking effect when the new school year begins at the end of August.
“Don’t say gay” is one of the ultra-conservative laws promoted by Republican DeSantis, who is seeking re-election next November.
“Children must not be political fodder used to inflame hatred and intolerance in order to gain and maintain power”Bacardi Jackson, acting deputy legal director of SPLC’s Children’s Rights practice group, said in a statement.
Jackson, who defined the law as “unconstitutionall,” he added that Americans as a whole and democracy “are irreparably harmed when people, and especially children, are relegated, made invisible, and attacked for who they are or what they love.”
In addition to SPLC, Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), and the Baker McKenzie Law Firm sued on behalf of families including David Dinan and Vikranth Gongidi, who said they are “deeply concerned” regarding the “Don’t Tell gay”.
“The law limits our speech and our expression. The law forces us to censor ourselves for fear of provoking responses from our children’s teachers and classmates that would isolate our children and make them feel ashamed of their own family,” said Dinan and Gongidi, a gay couple.
Jennifer and Matthew Cousins, also plaintiffs and parents of three children, one of them non-binary, stressed that this law “paints our family as shameful.”
