TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – “Don’t say gay.” Regulation of books and debate in the classroom. Teachers, parents, and school librarians navigate new and uncertain terrain. LGBTQ+ rights under attack. A very public feud between the state government and Disney. And at the center of it all is a governor who has become a rival of former President Donald Trump and likely has his sights set on the White House.
This is Florida at this point in history, mid-2023.
For many who live in Florida, the past few months have brought some changes, many related to Governor Ron DeSantis. Here, Associated Press Florida reporter Brendan Farrington, who has covered the state’s politics since 1997, reflects on the changes for different groups and places them in the context of the cultural and political landscape.
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HOW LIFE CHANGES FOR…
YOUR AVERAGE FLORIDA:
For your average Floridian, concerns about the cost of living have become an issue and they are not really spoken about as vocally as most people would have expected.
Rents are skyrocketing. Property insurance, whether you live near the coast or not, is becoming less available and less affordable.
Inflation has obviously played a role, but much of the discussion has moved away from those issues that affect everyday Floridians into more of an “us vs. them” over cultural issues or abortion and discussions of race.
Weapons are something else. Under a new law, anyone who legally owns a handgun can also carry it concealed without a permit. Now you need a permit to carry a handgun and go through training and a background check to carry a concealed weapon. This will no longer have to happen from July 1.
There also appears to be an increase in hate-related incidents. Someone projected anti-Semitic messages into Jacksonville’s Jaguars stadium last season, and there have been self-proclaimed Nazis waving flags and signs at events.
And again, the abortion. In April 2022, Florida passed a law establishing a ban on abortion after 15 weekstwo months before the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and passed a stricter one to enforce that ban after six weeks this year. Clearly, reproductive rights are taking a hit in Florida.
TEACHERS:
With the “Don’t Say Gay” bill (opponents call it that because it prohibits discussion of sexuality in schools with students), the argument of those who support the legislation say that it does not mention the word gay, which is simply to protect. children from material in which parents should have more say.
But because of the vague language, some people wonder if they can mention LGBTQ+ issues. A student might ask, “Why does so-and-so have two mothers?” Some teachers feel that they cannot even address the question without ramifications.
The bill has also left some teachers feeling like they can’t even represent who they are in the classroom. If they are gay, transgender or bisexual, they have allowed themselves to conclude that they cannot have or say anything that indicates this. This includes hiding items such as photographs of couples and gay pride emblems.
There are those who say it is better to say nothing than risk violating the mandates that come down from the State Department of Education.
PARENTS:
It empowers parents who agree with DeSantis’ philosophy and ideology in education. But parents who welcome this discussion feel, “What about us? What happened to our right to teach our children these things?” Parents with LGBTQ+ children they feel they are being denied access to health care and their children will subsequently be at risk of depression or suicide.
It’s almost symbolic of a lot of what DeSantis has come up with. He divides people of different ideologies and empowers people who agree with him to speak more. It empowers parents who, for religious, moral or other reasons, do not want their children to be told about sexuality, especially gender transition or other gay students.
And those parents who welcome these policies with open arms are more involved in school boards. DeSantis, more than any other governor, has promoted school board races, encouraged people to run, helped candidates who share his ideology, and encouraged parents to complain to school boards. It has put a lot more strain on schools. And it is dividing people between ideologies. A Sarasota school board member recently walked out of a meeting after the Republican president allowed a parent to personally attack him for being gay.
SCHOOL LIBRARY:
School books must be approved by school librarians. And that has raised questions about schools that don’t currently have a “media specialist” — someone trained to work with staff to approve library and classroom materials. It allows book investigations to be done more easily, forcing people to justify why books should be in schools in the face of complaints from people who want to ban them.
There are still many questions about the vague language used, such as whether a book can include an LGBTQ+ character even if there is no sexual content. It’s causing schools to be a little more cautious, perhaps even more cautious than necessary, in an effort to conform to the governor’s wishes.
LGBTQ+ RESIDENTS:
It has led to some steps back in LGBTQ+ rights. I think people feel more endangered — which can be the target of hate attacks — and by getting the government involved in these issues, homophobic people may feel they can act more often.
I have spoken to many LGBTQ+ lawmakers and activists who they feel they are not treated as whole people, and that the government is trying to suppress who they really are. In some cases, it reminds people of the anti-gay movement of the 1970s. But now, instead of fighting for rights, they are defending rights.
THE THOUSANDS OF DISNEY EMPLOYEES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA:
I don’t know how it affects the day-to-day rights of Disney employees. I’m sure they are having a great interest in it fight between DeSantis and his employer Right Now.
I don’t think Disney is going anywhere. North Carolina has floated the idea of trying to attract them. Some people have talked about this and asked, “What if Disney moves?” But it’s a huge company with such a large footprint in Central Florida, it’s very unlikely that you’ll see this get to the point where Disney says, “No, we don’t want to be in Florida.”
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS:
Democrats once dominated politics in the state of Florida.
For decades, his party was in control. They controlled the legislature and the governor’s office most years. Even when Republicans were elected to the governor’s office, they had a Democratic Legislature to deal with until Jeb Bush appeared to breathe new life into the state Republican Party, despite losing its first elections in 1994. When he won in 1998, the Republicans had a legislative majority and it was built year after year after year.
Republicans now have a supermajority in the Legislature. They now hold every statewide office and have more registered voters than Democrats. And the power of the party is playing to its strengths and voter engagement and messaging.
Democrats appear frustrated in Tallahassee that they lack the power to stop legislation without the numbers to prevent bills from moving forward. Now they are mostly relegated to the courier, trying to work with colleagues across the aisle to amend the legislation and make what they call bad bills a little better.
But generally, they know they can’t do anything. Republicans are having a field day and basically doing whatever they want. DeSantis has exercised more control over the Legislature than any governor I’ve seen.
DISCARD YOURSELF:
Governor DeSantis won by a larger margin than any Republican has won the state of Florida. And he has used it as a mandate that the state supports him and his politics and ideology.
So it has made him more powerful in Florida. It has made him more emboldened. And the agenda he has approved fits very well for a Republican presidential primary.
A lot of the trouble he’s taken on, he’s doing it to play places like Iowa and South Carolina as much as Florida. He has used the word woke more times in the past year than probably in the previous four years. This has been a big change for him.
He has been doing his book tour and traveling. His name recognition has skyrocketed nationally outside of Florida. But with that, he is increasingly criticized by his fellow Republicans, especially Trump.
Other candidates and potential hopefuls like Mike Pence and Nikki Haley have criticized him for attacking Disney, which they say is attacking businesses and is un-Republican. In turn, DeSantis has had to defend himself more. Although he is not yet a candidate, that is expected very soon, he is basically campaigning while traveling to Iowa, New Hampshire and other key primary states.
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