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‘The Law Concerns Me’: Biden’s Surgeon General Opposes Florida Law That Restricts Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation Discussions For K-3rd Graders

   DailyWire.com
Dr. Vivek Murthy, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to be U.S. surgeon general, speaks during a news conference at the Queen Theater December 08, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s Surgeon General Vivek Murthy took to Twitter on Monday to express his opposition to Florida’s newly-passed law that prohibits discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in K-3 classrooms, claiming “the law concerns me.”

Murthy, who was raised in Florida, shared his remarks in a series of Twitter posts to express his opposition to the “Parental Rights in Education” bill:

Florida’s recent law restricting discussion about gender identity in school has understandably raised serious concerns. The law concerns me too. Let me explain why:

Learning that people are different and that not all families look the same—these are important lessons that start early in life, including in school. They help create a society based on understanding and respect. They help children know they belong even if they are different.

I grew up in Florida and am a proud graduate of the public school system. As a kid who often felt I didn’t belong, it helped tremendously when teachers openly discussed our different backgrounds. This built understanding and reduced shame.

LGBTQ+ youth also deserve such proactive support. Preventing or criminalizing efforts to foster such understanding hurts kids & families. It shuts down dialogue instead of nurturing healthy conversation. And it sends a signal to LGBTQ+ youth that they are not fully accepted.

The “Parental Rights in Education” bill, a bill renamed by Democrats as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, has garnered strong support from Americans. In a new national poll commissioned by The Daily Wire, nearly two-thirds of Americans and most Disney consumers said the company is wrong to be against the legislation.

As previously reported, the national poll of U.S. adults was conducted over the weekend by market research technology platform Lucid on behalf of The Daily Wire. The survey’s 1,000 person sample was 37% Democrat, 32% Republican, and 31% Independent.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated that he will sign the bill after it passed in Florida’s Senate last Tuesday and last month in the House.

The bill’s text clearly notes, “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

The Daily Wire previously reported that DeSantis was asked by a reporter during the question-and-answer session how businesses would respond to the newly passed bill:

“People actually said that if you don’t have classroom instruction on sexual matters in grades K-3, that somehow businesses don’t want to be in Florida? I think people need to get out of their bubble and actually talk to parents,” DeSantis said.

The governor also addressed the bill during his own speech.

“As a parent of three kids that are age five and under, thank you for letting me and my wife send our kids to kindergarten without them being sexualized,” DeSantis said during his remarks.

“I think if you look at what’s been done, both in terms of funding and policy, this really was the year of the parent in the state of Florida,” the governor added.

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