Support Politicians The most prominent supporters of the act are several
Republicans in Florida:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the bill;
Florida Senator Dennis Baxley, who filed the bill in the Florida Senate; former
Florida Representative Joe Harding, who filed the bill in the Florida House of Representatives;
Christina Pushaw, who served as press secretary to DeSantis at the time of the passage of the bill; and Florida Senator
Ileana Garcia, who gave a controversial speech in support of the bill. DeSantis said that education for children about gender identity "is trying to sow doubt in kids about their gender identity" and that such education is "trying to say that they can be whatever they want to be". Baxley rhetorically asked, "Why is everybody now all about coming out when you're at school?" and said that there are "kids trying on different kinds of things they hear about and different kinds of identities and experimenting. That's what kids do." Garcia said that "gay is not a permanent thing, LGBT is not a permanent thing", a statement directly contrary to scientific evidence that sexual orientation and gender identity are not choices and cannot be changed. Garcia later apologized. Pushaw said that "The bill that liberals inaccurately call 'Don't Say Gay' would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill", and said that "If you're against the Anti-Grooming bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don't denounce the grooming of 4–8-year-old children", reflecting the
anti-LGBT conspiracy theory that people who educate children about the LGBT community, LGBT history,
LGBT rights, and same-sex marriage are practicing a form of
child grooming, contrary to scientific research by experts in child development and psychology that indicate that the aforementioned education has a positive effect on children. The law attracted statements of support from many of the state's representatives in the federal government and figures outside of Florida state politics.
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat and representative from Hawaii, argued that the act should go further and cover not only kindergarten through to third grade, but all grades through to twelfth grade. Former president
Donald Trump agreed with DeSantis signing the bill, calling it "a good move" in an interview with
The Washington Post, though he reportedly declined to elaborate. Ten Republican members of the US House of Representatives from Florida joined Senator
Marco Rubio in saying that the act helped to keep classes age appropriate, believing that kids as young as five should not have to worry about their gender identity.
Organizations and other individuals The Florida state chapter of the conservative advocacy group
Moms for Liberty supported the act as an advancement of their wishes to increase
parental rights over schools. The
Pinellas County subchapter's president, Angela Dubach, has called for the law to be expanded to include middle schools up to eighth grade as well. The
National Review also came out in support, releasing an op-ed written by Madeline Kearns. In her editorial, Kearns claims that parental access to school medical and behavioral records on their respective children is "a no-brainer", terminology she used to also describe the prohibition on parents being restricted access from "critical decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being".
Opposition Students have been among the most prominently visible demonstrators against the act. Additional organizations which have notably supported lawsuits against the act or issued statements condemning the legislation include
Family Equality Council, the
American Federation of Teachers, the
National Education Association, the
Florida Education Association, the
American Academy of Pediatrics, the
American Psychological Association, the
Human Rights Campaign,
Equality Florida,
Human Rights Watch, the
United Nations Human Rights Council through
United Nations Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the
American Bar Association, and 296 major businesses, including, most notably and most prominently,
The Walt Disney Company.
Students against the legislation Massive walkouts were carried out by students in
middle schools and
high schools across Florida and throughout the United States in opposition to what they described as the ''Don't Say Gay'' bill, with large crowds of
middle schoolers and
high schoolers chanting "We Say Gay", "Gay Lives Matter", "We Fight For Gay Rights", and "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Homophobes Have Got To Go" in response.
Human rights groups Some organizations have argued that the act is unconstitutional. The
Family Equality Council stated that the act attempts to "erase for an entire generation of Florida public school students" education about the
LGBT community,
LGBT history,
LGBT rights, and
same-sex marriage; and stated that the act violates the
First and
Fourth Amendments "by discriminatorily censoring classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida public schools".
Non-advocacy organizations The most common organizational argument against the Act is that the provisions harm LGBT children within Florida's public schools. These arguments were amplified by educational organizations, such as the
American Federation of Teachers, the
National Education Association, and the
Florida Education Association.
Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, stated that the act would "single out certain kids and families for derision and denigration. It is just wrong. Its intent is to divide our communities".
Becky Pringle, the President of the National Education Association, and Andrew Spar, the President of the Florida Education Association, further built off of Weingarten's comments, with Pringle stating that the "deeply disturbing legislation aims to censor educators" and prevent them from supporting their students' gender identity", and Spar stating the legislation endangers the self-esteem and security of students based on their identity. Pediatric and psychological organizations also have opposed the act on the grounds that the legislation harms LGBT children. The
American Academy of Pediatrics and the
American Psychological Association have each issued statements through their respective presidents of either the national organization or the state chapters condemning the law. Lisa Gwynn, the President of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics at the time of the passage of bill, stated that "The 'Don't Say Gay' bill will harm Florida's children in the classroom and beyond".
Frank C. Worrell, PhD, the President of the American Psychological Association at the time of the passage of the bill, stated that the act is "stigmatizing and marginalizing children" and that the act "sends a damaging message to impressionable young people at a critical time in their development". These groups were further joined by the
American Bar Association, which states through then-president Reginald Turner the law and derivative legislation like it fosters "a hostile culture beset by bullying and physical violence" against LGBT children at school. Luke P. Norris, a law professor writing in the
Virginia Law Review, said that the proliferation of private-enforcement statutes like the Florida bill could lead to consequences such as a growing rift in cultural and political spheres regarding matters of profound moral discourse, adding that "The spaces members of the public share—healthcare facilities, schools, shopping centers, roadways, and even voting stations—may become freighted, charged spaces, where people are suspicious that fellow members of the public will wield the power of the state and bring the weight of the law to bear on their activities." Officials within the
US Federal government and the
United Nations Human Rights Council have additionally subscribed to the argument that the act harms children, as well as LGBT educators and families. The
Department of Education through
secretary Miguel Cardona stated that the bill would enable further bullying and discrimination against LGBT students. Moreover,
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and President
Joe Biden's administration have blasted the bill for reducing the freedoms of some of Florida's "most vulnerable" families and students. For similar reasons to Cardona, the UNHRC through independent expert
Victor Madrigal-Borloz has further criticized the bill and the laws which take to replicate it in other jurisdictions.
Corporate opponents 321 major businesses oppose the act and other similar acts that have been passed or proposed which these businesses view as restricting the rights of LGBT people, harming LGBT children and LGBT families as well as LGBT people who are their employees and customers. The major businesses noted in a statement that the acts target LGBT children "for exclusion or differential treatment", that the acts "would harm our team members and their families, stripping them of opportunities and making them feel unwelcome and at risk in their own communities. As such, it can be exceedingly difficult for us to recruit the most qualified candidates for jobs in states" that have passed such acts, and that the acts "have a negative effect on our employees, our customers, our competitiveness, and state and national economies". Some of the companies or North American divisions of companies which signed the letter include but are not limited to most major American media conglomerates (including the holding companies for
NBC,
ABC, and
CBS), large technology companies like
Apple and Google, the oil giant
Shell, automakers
General Motors and
Toyota, large banks such as
Wells Fargo and
HSBC, transportation companies like
American Airlines and
Union Pacific Railroad, retailers
PetSmart and
CVS, and healthcare firms
AstraZeneca and
Cardinal Health. ==Legislative history==