By Laura Zorc
If you have a Twitter account, live in Florida, or follow education-related issues, it is almost impossible for you not to have heard about Florida House Bill 1557, or, as left-wing media outlets have misnamed it, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
This moniker, and the larger straw-manning of the bill it represents, has added an insidious component to discussions of this legislation. However, polls have shown that despite this smear campaign, 68 percent of voters support this legislation when the text of the bill is directly read to them.
Here are five lies that have been spread about House Bill 1557.
1. HB 1557 will make discussions of same-sex parentage impossible for kids in Florida schools. Opponents of the bill, in an effort to undermine popular support, have continued to push this false narrative. They maintain, incorrectly, that because HB 1557 prohibits the inclusion of sexual content or theories of gender in K-3 classrooms, the children of a same-sex couple can’t discuss who their parents are. This narrative falls apart, of course, upon reading the legislation. HB 1557 only prohibits “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties” on sexual or gender identities. “Instruction” is the operative word here. Teachers may not, under this bill, as a part of their lesson plan instruct K-3rd graders on topics of sexual orientation or gender identities – which seems like common sense. Children under the age of eight are too young for complex theories on sex and gender.
