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Leftists are in a hysterical uproar over a new Florida parental rights bill that would prohibit the teaching and discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity to the youngest students in classrooms, a key piece of legislation in the state’s rollback of the “woke” agenda but one prominent liberal has taken a more rational position.
Comic Bill Maher, who has been an outspoken critic of the most radical elements of the Democratic Party, rejected the moral panic over the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill – a label cynically crafted to provoke an emotional response – during Friday’s edition of the “Overtime” segment of his popular HBO show.
During the discussion with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni and Newsweek’s Batya Ungar-Sargon, Maher pushed back on the misleading narrative over the bill which was passed this week by the state legislature and is awaiting the signature of Governor Ron DeSantis, a staunch defender of the rights of parents.
The “Parental Rights in Education” bill which has ignited the left’s latest moral panic, doesn’t even mention the word “gay” in its language but, rather, reinforces the “fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children,” in this case, the age which is acceptable to teach them about sex and whose responsibility that it is to do so.
In reading a question that was submitted about whether the Florida bill was a trap for Democrats, Maher said, “I guess it’s a reaction to Republicans who feel that there’s too much talk in lower grades, I think it’s only, they’re talking about kindergarten to third grade, so we’re talking about very young kids who, you know, as always with this stuff, you know, it’s not like there’s no kernel of truth in that maybe kids that young shouldn’t be thinking about sex at all.”
(Video: YouTube/Real Time With Bill Maher)
“It’s not like you’re not allowed to literally not say gay, but they just don’t want teachers talking about it,” he said, shooting down the talking point about banning the word gay.
“They think it’s the province of parents,” he added, then turning the floor over to his guests.
Bruni, who noted that he himself is gay, questioned the priorities of Republican politicians. “This is not going to improve Floridians’ lives, this is not an urgent problem, this is a dodge, it’s another culture war that’s meant to solve cheap, easy points rather than really solving America’s problems.”
Ungar-Sargon had a different take, agreeing that the bill was about parental rights, resulting in Bruni suggesting that the teachings of sexuality have been blown out of proportion.
“Do we know that this was an enormous problem, pervasive in Florida schools?” he asked. “This reeks to me of something that happened on a few occasions and has been blown into something.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Maher said. “The same thing with the race — with the CRT thing. I feel like it’s disingenuous when the liberals say, you know, ‘We just want to teach history,’ and like, no one’s against that… well, I’m sure there are some f**ckin’ rednecks who are against that, but most reasonable people are not against realistically teaching history.”
“It’s not like you can’t mention slavery,” he said, “they’re telling you about something else that is going on.”
“I’ve read too many reports, too many first-person reports from teachers who say, ‘I can’t go on teaching like this because this is insanity what I’m doing in this classroom, separating kids by race and oppressors and non-oppressors, and they’re little kids, it is going on,” Maher said.
The bill has been attacked by the left’s corporate allies including Disney which threw a tantrum and cut off political donations after DeSantis made it clear that he wouldn’t bend.
Ron DeSantis took a call from the most powerful corporation in his state and told them to pound sand. Teddy Roosevelt.pic.twitter.com/iwV0xScgWg
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 10, 2022
The governor is expected to sign it into law regardless of the caterwauling of Democrats, the powerful LGBT lobby, and their China-appeasing corporate partners.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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