After passing laws in 2023 that prohibited “gender identity” and sexual orientation instructions in early school grades and limited bathroom access to biological sex, the Florida GOP is pushing a new wave of legislation in 2024 that further addresses these topics.
Republican lawmakers filed a bill that prohibits government workers and contractors from being forced to use preferred pronouns within the workplace while protecting employees from penalties for their religious beliefs or convictions, including ideas regarding biological sex.
Another piece of legislation would make it “defamation per se” to publicly accuse someone of discriminating against others based on their race, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity and, if passed, let the accused sue journalists, newspapers, TV stations, or citizens making social media posts.
Along with providing extensive grounds for defamation cases, the bill also considers all “anonymous sources” in charges of discrimination as false by definition.
A third bill seeks to bar government entities from displaying any flags that “represent a political viewpoint,“ including ”politically partisan, racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint.”
Other states are considering similar laws in their 2024 legislative sessions.
Expansions from 2023
Florida passed HB 1069 in May 2023 as part of the “Let Kids Be Kids” initiative, which prohibited “gender identity” and sexual orientation lessons from pre-kindergarten to the 8th Grade after similar legislation in 2022 banned it in Grades K–3.The Movement Advancement Project (MAP), an LGBT-focused think tank, said these legislative efforts in Florida and other states amount to a “war on LGBT people in America.”
Florida’s Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz, Jr., defended Florida’s education efforts after Mr. DeSantis signed the legislation in May 2023.
“Today’s actions make it clear—educators in Florida are expected to teach our standards and not interject their own opinions or worldview into the classroom.
New Bills for 2024
Some of the bills unveiled in the 2024 session expand previous efforts by the Florida Legislature.While the latter made it illegal to force teachers, administrators, and students to refer to others using pronouns that do not correspond to biological sex, HB 599 extends this rule to government entities and their workplaces.
If passed, the bill would prevent employees and contractors from facing personnel actions because of their “deeply held religious or biology-based beliefs.”
It would also make it illegal for state-funded nonprofit organizations to require training or instructions on “sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” as a condition for employment.
The bill says that “Editing any form of media,” including newspapers, books, magazines, radio and TV broadcasts, films, and social media posts, “so that it attributes something false or leads a reasonable viewer to believe something false about a plaintiff, may give rise to a defamation claim or privacy tort.”
Accusing another of discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or “gender identity” would amount to “defamation per se” under the changes proposed in the bill.
Those accused of this kind of discrimination are also shielded by their “constitutionally protected religious beliefs” and their “scientific beliefs.”
Rule Against Political Flags
State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) is sponsoring HB 901, which concerns the use of flags by governmental entities, including public schools and universities.The law would prohibit flags that represent a “political viewpoint,” including views that are “politically partisan, racial, [or based on] sexual orientation and gender.”
The bill would ban LGBT-pride flags in classrooms and government agencies, along with any other flags that express views that can be considered “political,” potentially even the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.
The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Fine to ask if HB 901 would apply to the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, which some see as a historical symbol of the American Revolution, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
The bill would also require any government offices to display the U.S. flag in a “prominent position that is superior to any other flag that is also displayed.”