'The fear is the point': Former GOP operative lashes out at Florida Republicans' 'Don't Say Gay' bill
Tim Miller, a former Republican operative who once worked at the Republican National Committee, is not happy about legislation being considered in Florida that critics are calling the "Don't Say Gay" law.
Writing at The Bulwark, Miller says that he initially thought critics of the proposed law were overhyping its nefariousness -- until he actually studied the law itself.
Specifically, Miller points to the text in the proposal that states, "A school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students."
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He then goes over the many ways this law could be used to essentially keep LGBTQ students and teachers in the closet.
"Lets say a teacher asked their students to make a Valentine and the sample he gave was the card he made for his husband. Is that a violation?" he asks. "Or what if a student asked to draw a picture of their two moms? How about if she wanted to make her Valentine to Mirabel Madrigal."
The real potential nightmare, says Miller, is the enforcement mechanism that would allow individual parents to sue schools accused of inappropriately "encouraging" discussions of LGBTQ issues.
"The answer to these hypotheticals all hinge on whether a crazy-ass parent of another student sees the valentine or family tree or Pulse book and decides to target the school," he writes. "In each case, the Don’t Say Gay bill would give our Panhandle Karen something to sue over."
All of this, argues Miller, is to create an atmosphere of paranoia where teachers fear broaching any forbidden topics for fear of being sued by angry parents.
"The fear is the point," he writes.
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