A coalition of 16 attorneys general recently filed an amicus brief in a federal court case in Florida that challenges the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill signed into law by the state’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The amicus brief constitutes a set of arguments from interests — in this case, the attorneys general — who weren’t originally parties to the lawsuit. The challenged Florida law, as its nickname from critics suggests, sharply restricts “classroom instruction” regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. Up through the third grade, such discussions are completely forbidden under the new law — although, as noted in a press release from the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), the legislation doesn’t fully define the form of discussion that’s restricted. “Florida teachers are already censoring themselves out of fear of the law,” the release notes.
Ellison is joined in the amicus brief by the top law enforcement officials for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. As outlined by Ellison’s office, the brief relies on two key arguments, including that the Florida law is extreme and that it’s set to cause real-world harms to vulnerable youth — harms that don’t automatically stop with the borders of Florida. What if a family originally from some other state lives in Florida part-time? What if Republican officials in other states achieve progress in enacting similar measures, furthering the climate of intimidation? Seemingly endless Republican attacks on LGBTQ+ people just for existing make clear the intimidation is continuing.
The underlying lawsuit providing the backdrop for the coalition’s arguments is from a group of students, parents, teachers, and organizations with stakes in the issue, and that case alleges the law to violate portions of the U.S. Constitution including the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause found in the 14th Amendment.
Besides its other provisions, the “Don’t Say Gay” law directs Florida’s state agency overseeing education to create new standards for classroom instruction regarding sexual orientation or gender identity for grades four through 12. That set-up creates the apparent possibility for even more restrictions on the free discussion of a basic aspect of human existence in the near future. Troublingly, the law also allows parents to bring civil claims against school districts over alleged violations of the provisions of the law — and with so many folks on the Right seemingly desperate for a chance to clamp down on free access to information, there’s an obvious, inherent element of serious intimidation threatening those involved in education.
As for the extremity of the law, Ellison’s office notes, summarizing arguments from the attorneys general, that despite claims from Florida leadership that “the Act is intended to protect children and preserve parental choice, the attorneys general have curricula in place that allow for age-appropriate discussion of LGBTQ+ issues while respecting parental views on the topic.” You don’t have to impose something like this overbearing law. The attorneys general are specifically arguing against a motion from Florida leaders for the dismissal of the original case.
