https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/10/trump-judge-upholds-dont-say-gay-law-saying-bullying-fact-life/
This is crazy. Another religious right wing judge pushing her views. She dismissed the suit saying there was no harm because a reasonable person wouldn’t think that the law precludes talking about gay people and same sex families. Just what the other trump judge said, but that is a lie. The law is written to allow any religious bigot to burden the school with lawsuits. Here are a couple examples from the article. Hugs
Based on the law, the Florida Board of Education recently instituted a new rule that says any K-3 teacher who is found to have taught their students about LGBTQ issues can have their licenses suspended or revoked. And in September, the Miami-Dade School Board voted against recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month over fears that it would violate the Don’t Say Gay law.
“It is simply a fact of life that many middle school students will face the criticism and harsh judgment of their peers,” wrote the judge.
By Molly Sprayregen Monday, October 24, 2022

Photo: Shutterstock
For the second time, a Trump-appointed judge has upheld the legality of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law.
Lambda Legal, the Southern Legal Counsel, and the Southern Poverty Law Center joined together with a group of LGBTQ students and their families to advocate for a preliminary injunction on H.B. 1557 – which prohibits K-3 teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity issues with their students. The lawsuit argued that the law restricts free speech and encourages bullying.
But U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger dismissed their request.
“Plaintiffs have not directed this Court to any fact that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the law prohibits students from discussing their families and vacations at school or even on a school assignment,” Berger reportedly wrote in the decision, “or that it would prohibit a parent from attending a school function in a ‘pride’ t-shirt or generally discussing their family structure in front of other people.”
Lambda Legal staff attorney Kell Olson called Berger’s decision “wrong on the law and disrespectful to LGBTQ+ families and students.”
“H.B. 1557 suppresses wholesale the speech and identities of LGBTQ+ students and their families. It sends a message of shame and stigma that has no place in schools and puts LGBTQ+ students and families at risk,” Olson continued.
“The students and families at the heart of this case have experienced more bullying in the months since the law went into effect than ever before in their lives, but the court dismissed their experiences of bullying as ‘a fact of life.’ The court’s decision defies decades of precedent establishing schools’ constitutional obligations to protect student speech, and to protect students from targeted bullying and harassment based on who they are.”
Berger acknowledged some of the plaintiff’s bullying worries but said that “it is simply a fact of life that many middle school students will face the criticism and harsh judgment of their peers.”
“Indeed, middle school children bully and belittle their classmates for a whole host of reasons,” Berger continued, “all of which are unacceptable, and many of which have nothing to do with a classmate’s gender identity.”
A challenge to the Don’t Say Gay law was dismissed by another Trump-nominated judge, Allen Cothrel Winsor, in early October.
The Don’t Say Gay law, which went into effect on July 1, continues to make its mark on Florida schools.
Based on the law, the Florida Board of Education recently instituted a new rule that says any K-3 teacher who is found to have taught their students about LGBTQ issues can have their licenses suspended or revoked.
And in September, the Miami-Dade School Board voted against recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month over fears that it would violate the Don’t Say Gay law.
And we have yet to hear about a prosecution or penalty for people using derogatory terms for LGBTQ+ people. I wonder why that is?
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Hello Ali. Because the people who wrote the law want that. They admitted it. One of the authors said he felt horrified that gay and trans kids felt free to come out and were accepted by the other students. He wanted students afraid to come out and to remain hidden. He was very clear that as a Christian he felt that if gay kids were ostracized or targeted for harassment, harm, and the fear of being beat up, then they wouldn’t be gay. Typical fundamental Christian bigot who thinks being gay is a choice kids are making. Hugs
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I guess I’m being a smart a– and taking “Don’t Say Gay” very literally, meaning that the law applies to both sides. I’m sure it won’t be applied that way, but I’m certain they didn’t take care to write it so that it only applies to one side. My apologies for wasting your time on this one! 🌹🌹
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Well Ali, you’re right it should be, but so far it has not been. Any gender instruction only means any non-cis non-straight displays. For example gay teachers have been warned / ordered not to talk about their families, their spouses, nor can they have any family pictures. But those rules do not apply to straight teachers. Same with kids with same sex parents, they are not allowed to talk about their families, draw them, do reports on them, yet kids in families that are male / female are encouraged to do so. There are more examples. It clearly is about enforcing a 1950s sexual norm on all schools and from there the rest of society.
I am watching Suris on YouTube talk about project 2025. The plan is to use the Florida model but take it to the extreme and country wide. Outlawing the entire LGBTQIA, outlawing any kind of porn, outlawing books and movies with any LGBTQIA characters or plots, arresting parents who allow their children to be LGBTQIA, arresting any doctor no matter what specialty that supports the LGBTQIA, and mandating that the only treatments for trans and gay kids / adults is conversion therapy that medical people must order if they think a patient is LGBTQIA. It is horribly scary what these people want to do to us. They are driven like Tildeb, TERFs, and moms of TikTok like groups. They won’t stop until they force the world to fit the mold they want, no matter the cost. No one else has rights but them, and only their ideas / ways of living will be tolerated. They are just like anti-abortionists. Hugs
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))shudder((
Fortunately there are more people who prefer that we the people-all of us-retain all our rights, especially to privacy.
All this being said, when there is a question as to why this subject is so important here on your blog, I’d say we’ve answered that question in this thread. These rights to privacy that the rightwing are taking away will be taken away even from libertarians who don’t mind what others do, but don’t want to know about it, same as from the most flaming drag queen. Human rights are for all!!
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Well said Ali, Human rights are for all. The founding fathers wrote “equality for all” and “in order to form a more perfect union”. Even if they did not live up to it doesn’t mean the rest of us can not keep trying to make the words true. Hugs
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