Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) unequivocally promised Thursday that policies in the Sunshine State will not be determined by “the musings of woke corporations.”
What is the background?
The promise was made one day after Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek capitulated to pressure from the outrage mob over legislation protecting parental rights in public education.
The Parental Rights in Education bill — falsely called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — protects Florida students in kindergarten through third grade from receiving classroom instruction on “sexual orientation or gender identity,” topics better suited for parents.
But Chapek said Disney has “opposed” the bill from its inception, claiming “it could be unfairly used to target gay, lesbian, nonbinary and transgender kids and families.” Chapek even spoke with DeSantis to express Disney’s “disappointment” with the bill.
What did DeSantis promise?
Speaking with supporters in Boca Raton, DeSantis vowed he will not cave under the pressure of LGBT activists, Democrats, and “woke corporations” like Disney.
“In the state of Florida, we are not going to allow them to inject transgenderism into kindergarten,” DeSantis said, triggering a raucous applause.
“First-graders shouldn’t have woke gender ideology imposed in their curriculums, and that is what we’re standing for because we’re standing for the kids and we’re standing for the parents,” he continued. “And I can tell you this: The chance that I am going to back down from my commitment to students and back down from my commitment to parents’ rights simply because of fraudulent media narratives or pressure from woke corporations— the chances of that are zero.”
After reaffirming that parents do not want their young children taught progressive sexual and gender ideology in schools, DeSantis turned to Disney and invoked the company’s relationship with China.
“You have companies like a Disney that are going to say and criticize parents’ rights, they’re going to criticize the fact that we don’t want transgenderism in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms,” DeSantis began.
“If that’s the hill that they’re going to die on, then how do they possibly explain lining their pockets with their relationship from the Communist Party of China?” he continued. “Because that’s what they do and they make a fortune, and they don’t say a word about the really brutal practices that you see over there at the hands of the CCP.
“And so in Florida, our policy’s got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not on the musing of woke corporations,” DeSantis declared.
After being approved by the Florida legislature, the Parental Rights in Education bill is headed to DeSantis’ desk, where is expected to sign it into law sometime soon.
The White House has condemned the bill as “horrific” and a form of “bullying.”