The progressive left has proven once again how out of touch they are with the American public. Amid all the manufactured fury over Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, they have failed to read the room as they label people supporting the law as bigoted. A Politico poll revealed that most Americans support the proposed legislation, which is now awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.
The survey, which the news outlet conducted shortly after Florida’s Senate passed the bill, showed that a majority of respondents supported the provisions outlined in the proposed legislation. Apparently, the Democrats’ effort to label it as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” fell largely on deaf ears. During a press conference, DeSantis said:
“As the parent of three kids that are aged 5 and under, thank you for letting me and my wife be able to send our kids to kindergarten without them being sexualized.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to FL legislature after passing “Don’t Say Gay” bill:
“As the parent of three kids that are aged 5 and under, thank you for letting me and my wife be able to send our kids to kindergarten without them being sexualized.” pic.twitter.com/7u08vHaimL
— The Recount (@therecount) March 14, 2022
The poll revealed that 37 percent of respondents “strongly support” and 13 percent “somewhat support banning the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.” About 11 percent said they “somewhat oppose” and 23 percent “strongly oppose” the bill while 15 percent indicated they had no opinion on the matter.
From Politico:
“Support was considerably higher among Republican registered voters, but there was also backing from independent voters. Seventy percent of GOP voters, for example, supported banning the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in lower grades compared to 51 percent of Democrats who opposed the legislation. The poll found that 46 percent of independent voters supported the ban compared to 35 percent who opposed it.”
These are some interesting numbers considering the overall debate over the bill. The majority of Democrats opposed the bill, but one would have expected a higher rate than 51 percent. It means 49 percent either supported the bill, or had no opinion.
Participants also indicated their attitudes towards “limiting lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity after third grade to ‘age appropriate’ discussion.” This question is particularly important because leftists were arguing that the guidelines regarding students in fourth grade or higher were vague to the point that certain people could abuse the law to target members of the LGBTQ community. However, this overlooks the fact that the wording of the bill refers to:
Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties 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.
In other words, any discussions with students in grade 4 or above must be “in accordance with state standards,” meaning that it must follow guidelines already established by the state, not some vague interpretation of the law. Progressive opponents of the bill have conveniently left that little tidbit out of their messaging for obvious reasons. The survey showed that 52 percent support this provision while 33 percent oppose it.
It looks like when Americans are shown what is actually in the bill, they understand that it is simply designed to ensure children under the age of seven are not exposed to material that is not age-appropriate. This is not a wholesale effort to target the LGBTQ community. The “Don’t Say Gay” mantra is clearly shown to be deceptive when the legislation forbids any discussion of sexuality for kids in that age range. Indeed, if you were to ask the vast majority of those who support the bill, they would tell you that sexual conversations of any nature to children under the age of seven are inappropriate in the classroom. Perhaps the left would have had more success with calling it the “Don’t Say Sex Bill?”
It is truly astounding that the left chose this as a hill to die on. Even people who vote Democrat could see why such legislation might be reasonable. But it seems they believed that using their favored tactic of painting those who disagree with them as bigots would work out in their favor on this particular issue. Unfortunately for them, they were wrong.
