‘It Should Never Have Passed’ – Disney Lashes Out at DeSantis for Signing Anti-Grooming Bill, Vows to Fight in Court

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed legislation on March 28, 2022 that prohibits classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary school grades, a law that opponents have called “Don’t Say Gay.”

“We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, said from a classroom at a charter school in Spring Hill, Fla., north of Tampa.

The law, titled “Parental Rights in Education,” has drawn national criticism from L.G.B.T.Q. organizations that fear it will have a chilling effect among teachers and young students.

Workers at Disney, one of the state’s major employers and corporate political donors, staged walkouts in protest after the bill passed the Legislature, even after the company’s chief executive had apologized to employees for not taking a stronger stand against the legislation and paused contributions to political campaigns.

On Monday March 28, 2022 Disney released a statement condemning the new law and urging lawmakers to repeal it or the courts to strike it down.