Don’t Say “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

Many of us have experienced the magic of Disney, in movies, books and at the theme park. Why can’t they just stick with entertainment and leave the sexual education to families to administer how they deem fitting for their small children?

You may have heard about the storm brewing in Florida over a bill recently passed and signed by the Governor. Don’t believe most of what you heard. Some Disney employees and many in the media have dubbed it the “Don’t say Gay” bill. It is nothing of the sort.

After hearing all the buzz around this bill and listening to the crazy explanations, I decided to do what those folks should have done. I read the bill. 

HB 1557, Parental Rights in Education, has moved through the Legislature and signed by Governor DeSantis. Nowhere is the word “gay” in the bill. It simply prohibits classroom discussion of sexuality and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. It also prohibits school district employees from discouraging or prohibiting the notification of parents regarding a students’ mental, emotional or physical well-being. Silly me. That seems like common sense to notify parents of such things. Apparently, in some districts, it was being prohibited. 

When the bill was signed by the Governor, a firestorm erupted. A group of Disney employees demanded that management “Do Something.” One Disney employee, who is running for Congress in Florida, said most of the employees approve of the legislation and it’s a small minority demanding action. But as we know, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Apparently, this small minority was very loud.

Nevertheless, Disney began bowing to the Woke crowd and trying to redeem itself. Disney has 38 lobbyists that troll the halls of the Florida Legislature and 80,000 workers. They demand a lot of power and usually get what they want in Tallahassee. They had no lobbying going on before the bill passed and did nothing to try to stop it. So why the big push to roll it back now?

Disney held a meeting with employees after the signing of the bill. Some employees leaked tapes from the meeting. Disney is proud of their wokeness. Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Vivian Ware, said they would no longer refer to children at the parks as “ladies and gentlemen” or “boys and girls.” Instead visitors will now hear, “Dreamers of all Ages.” 

Other comments from the Corporate President, Karey Burke, were very disturbing. She said she is the mother of a transgender child and a pansexual child. She supports “many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in Disneys’ stories.” A Disney production manager says that his team is determined to “explore queer stories.” They want to make certain they are creating enough “gender non-conforming characters,” as well as “canonical trans characters and canonical bisexual characters.” Canonical means, according to Cambridge, “related to a rule, principle, or law, especially in the Christian Church.” I thought that was a very interesting choice of words.

In the leaked Disney call, Nadine Smith, activism partner, went on a tear with wild conspiracy theories about the new law. She said, “We’re reacting from the reality that, when they can erase you, when they can criminalize your existence, when they can demonize who you are, the next step is to criminalize you and take your kids.”

All this hysteria over a bill that simply tells schools they can no longer discuss sexuality with children under 3rd grade. These people should have read the bill before they jumped off the train. Unless, of course, they know exactly what the bill says and just can’t debate the merits so they lie. The bill language makes perfect sense to me and to most of the parents in Florida who had been asking their representatives to offer some protection for their children. 

Why is Disney and so many others, including in our schools, obsessed with sexualizing children? There was a time when discussing sexuality with someone else’s child could get you thrown in jail. Now it is supposed to be accepted and embraced. I’m having a hard time trying to see why any adult would want to be able to discuss any sexual content with other folks young children.

Disney appears surprised by the push back. They’re getting hammered from all corners. The opponents of the bill are angry because they made no attempt to stop it. Parents and supporters are angry that Disney is targeting their innocent children.

At a shareholder meeting, Disney announced a $5 million donation to LGBTQ groups. The Human Rights Campaign announced they were declining any donation from the company. The company is likely doubling down in order to get back on the right side of these organizations. 

These opponents who are complaining about the bill should have to explain why they think they are entitled to discuss sex with kindergarten thru third grade children. After all, it only applies to schools and to faculty. Children can still talk about and discuss whatever they want. Why can’t teachers get back to reading, writing and arithmetic. That’s why parents send them to school. The sex education will come soon enough, it doesn’t need to start with kindergarten. Let the children keep their innocence for awhile and dream about magic kingdoms.