A conservative lobbyist in Florida is urging the state and local governments to ban the use of preferred pronouns.
At a Marion County Legislative Delegation meeting on Jan. 8, John Labriola, a concerned Floridian and lobbyist for the Christian Family Coalition Florida, spoke in favor of such legislation. A limited version of the pronoun ban law already exists, but Labriola called on the government to extend it.
“This is an area where individuals who work for city and county governments have their religious liberties and freedom of speech curtailed by employers imposing gender ideology,” Labriola said.
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The current law only addresses the use of preferred pronouns in school settings. It prohibits education on sexual orientation and gender identity. The “Parental Rights in Education” bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022.
The bill suggests that some school systems are providing inappropriate materials, including child pornography, through their libraries. It also implies that educators are engaging in practices that promote the sexualization of children.
“We’ve seen libraries with clearly inappropriate pornographic materials for very young kids. And we’ve seen services given to students without the consent or even knowledge of their parents across the country, and unfortunately, that’s happened here in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said at a press conference in 2022.
The initial bill was enacted for K-3 students, but has been expanded to include all K-12 students. Under the law, all students are prohibited from discussing or learning about preferred pronouns, sexual ideology, or sexual education.
Florida legislation continues to grow more conservative. The institution of such policies appears to limit the civil liberties of citizens, particularly educators, while emboldening the religious rights of others.
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