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After intense controversy, an amendment to Florida's already controversial "Don't Say Gay" Bill that would require school faculty to out their students to their parents has been withdrawn.
State Representative Joe Harding had his amendment removed by fellow Republican Representative Sam Garrison from House Bill 1557 on February 22. This withdrawal comes as the bill progresses throughout the state legislation.
The amendment was originally written to force schools to out students to their parents within six weeks of them openly discussing their sexual or gender identity with faculty members. Although the amendment did set up regulations that would require healthy conversations on LGBTQ+ identity between family members, it did not provide any protections for students who said they were abused or neglected because of their orientation.
"A school district may not adopt procedures or student support forms that prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about his or her student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being," wrote Garrison's new amendment text, "or a change in related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information."
Although the amendment has been changed, it is still the center of controversy among Floridians, especially LGBTQ+ activists and Democrats. Representative Anna Eskamani told Newsweek that the bill, even without the controversial amendment, could still be devastating toward young adults.
"It would prohibit the encouragement of any conversation in a school setting about sexual orientation or gender identity, meaning that a child wanting to talk about their two moms, or learn more about the Pulse Nightclub shooting or hear from elected officials and community leaders who identify as LGBTQ+ would be unable to do so," explained Eskamani.
President Joe Biden has even weighed in, calling the bill "hateful" in a recent tweet.
"I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are," he wrote. "I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve."
Some groups have even claimed that the "Don't Say Gay" bill, amendment or not, can create a dangerous environment akin to a surveillance state.
"Governor DeSantis is pushing legislation to curb free speech, propagandize school curriculums, and monitor classroom conversations, private workplaces, and doctor's offices," said Nadine Smith of Equality Florida in a statement, "all in order to outflank Donald Trump to the right and build an onramp to run for President in 2024."
DeSantis' office told Newsweek, however, that the bill's provisions do not justify such a comparison.
"I do not see how any of these provisions could be construed as a 'surveillance state,'" said DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw. "I would suggest that anyone who truly believes that, has not actually read the bills."
Update at 2/22/2022 at 4:38 p.m. EST: This story has been updated to include more information on the response to the bill.
