Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) fired back Monday, directly challenging a reporter who asked him whether he supported the bill critics have been referring to as “Don’t Say Gay.”
Reporter Evan Donovan shared video of the exchange, tweeting, “JUST NOW: I asked @GovRonDeSantis if he supported HB 1557, the legislation critics call the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.”
WATCH:
JUST NOW: I asked @GovRonDeSantis if he supported HB 1557, the legislation critics call the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.https://t.co/CGiooSrKYn @WFLA https://t.co/H34CGSj7BJ pic.twitter.com/C518l1QaC3
— Evan Donovan (@EvanDonovan) March 7, 2022
Donovan asked whether DeSantis supported the legislation, which was on the Florida Senate floor, noting that critics have renamed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“Does it say that that in the bill?” DeSantis asked, interrupting.
“I know that you support —” Donovan tried again.
“Does it say that in the bill?” DeSantis repeated the question.
“I’m asking —” Donovan protested, but DeSantis pushed back immediately.
“I’m asking you to tell me what’s in the bill, because you are pushing false narratives,” DeSantis continued. “It doesn’t matter what critics say.”
“It bans classroom instruction on sexual identity and gender orientation,” Donovan pressed.
“For who?” DeSantis asked. “For grades pre-k through three. So five year olds, six year olds, seven year olds — and the idea that you wouldn’t be honest about that and tell people what it actually says, it’s why people don’t trust people like you because you peddle false narratives.”
Several people began to clap and cheer as DeSantis continued, “So we disabuse you of those narratives — and we’re going to make sure that parents are able to send their kid to kindergarten without having some of this stuff injected into their school curriculum.”
The bill in question, as The Daily Wire’s own Matt Walsh pointed out, not only does not tell anyone “don’t say gay,” it doesn’t even include the word “gay” anywhere in the legislation.
As The Daily Wire reported:
“Just so you know, there is no bill in Florida forbidding students or teachers from saying the word ‘gay,’” Walsh tweeted. “That doesn’t exist. Nothing like it exists. Not at all. Not remotely. What does exist is legislation preventing teachers from sexually indoctrinating pre-schoolers.”
“So weird that the text of the ‘don’t say gay bill’ doesn’t mention the word ‘gay’ at all, anywhere,” Walsh added. “How can it prohibit the use of a word without specifying which word? Well because this is all a bunch of bullsh** invented by the Left.”
“Here is the so-called ‘don’t say gay’ bill. All it requires is that teachers don’t discuss sexual orientation and gender identity with children in third grade and younger,” he added.
“The Left is so determined to sexually indoctrinate your kids that they’re treating this like the apocalypse,” Walsh warned.
Jon Schweppe, Director of Policy at the American Principles Project, explained, “This bill doesn’t do anything the Left claims — kids can talk about their families, even if they’re LGBT. Classroom discussions can still take place about LGBT history. But this bill tries to provide boundaries, prevent unwanted indoctrination, and give parents more control over the upbringing of their kids.”