Addressing reporters one day after the Florida legislature passed a bill barring teachers from including discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in their K-3 curriculum, White House press secretary Jen Psaki questioned whether the bill’s supporters are bigots intent on doing harm to gay children.
The bill would “discriminate against families, against kids—put these kids in a position of not getting the support they need at a time when that’s exactly what they need,” Psaki said. “It’s discriminatory, it’s a form of bullying, it his horrific. I mean, the president has spoken to that.”
Psaki was responding to a question from a reporter on why President Biden voted in favor of a Senate bill amendment, while serving as a senator in 1994, to bar federal funds for services “being used for the promotion of homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative.”
“In term’s of [Biden’s] views and comments from 25 years ago, I think the most important question now is why are Florida leaders deciding they need to discriminate against kids who are members of the LGBTQI community,” Psaki said. “What prompts them to do that? Is it meanness? Is it wanting to make kids have more difficult times in school and their communities?”
Psaki on Florida's "gay" education bill: It "discriminate[s] against families, against kids put these kids in the position of not getting the support they need at a time where that's exactly what they need. It's discriminatory. It's a form of bullying. It is horrific." pic.twitter.com/3BbLaMHqvq
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 9, 2022
The Florida law, known as the Parental Rights in Education bill, passed Florida’s Senate 22-17 on Tuesday. All Democratic and two Republican state senators voted against the bill.
The bill states that classroom instruction “on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” An earlier version of the bill stated that “a school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels.”
The law has been labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by Democrats, in part over fears the wording of the bill is too broad and could lead to lawsuits against teachers.