Latino media quickly jumped on the disinformation bandwagon regarding Florida’s new ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill, seizing upon the far catchier ‘Don’t Say Gay’ moniker adopted by activists to describe the legislation that gives the parents of children from kindergarten to third grade enforceable rights as to their education, and in particular, on the subject of sex and gender.
Of course, anything related to Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis provokes a collective convulsion from the Latino corporate media. At the Spanish-speaking newscasts, the journalists were so intent on defending the ‘oppressed’ LGBT community, that they stuck to passing a lie as truth, since there is nowhere in the bill where it says ‘Don’t Say Gay’:
Of note: out of the national newscasts aired over Univision, Telemundo, CNN En Español (CNNEE), and Estrella TV, only CNNEE actually took the time to explain the details of the “controversial” portion of the law that has been taken completely out of context, or simply ignored by the other channels. Even so, they stuck to Don’t Say Gay in their reporting.
To be crystal clear: the word gay is nowhere to be seen in HB 1557. What has wreaked havoc among progressives is that the law restricts discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity to only those that are age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate for students; that is from kindergarten through the third grade.
It also requires district school boards to adopt procedures that comport with certain provisions of law for notifying student's parent of specified information, and most importantly, reinforces the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding upbringing and control of their children.
Given the deep-set traditional family values of the Hispanic community, bills like H.B. 1557 are a welcome relief. What with the free-for-all taking place in the nation’s schools, and which became evident when the lockdowns brought the classroom into the living room, with parents actually SEEING what their children were being taught --- it was high time for mom and dad to take over.
