FL Editorial Board Compares DeSantis To Anita Bryant

From the editorial board of the Miami Herald:

They carried signs saying “Protect our children” and “Don’t legislate immorality.” Their leader said she spoke as a mother and a Christian, her “Save our children” campaign proclaiming to save Florida’s youth from the influence of gay people.

It was 1977, and singer Anita Bryant, known for her Florida orange juice commercials, became the face of an effort to repeal a Dade County ordinance that prohibited discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

Like Bryant in 1977, they say they are acting in the name of “Protection of Children” — to name a bill targeting drag shows. It’s under that premise that the DeSantis administration has threatened essentially to shut down drag-show venues that allow minors. The state is going after their liquor licenses.

In the free state of Florida, parental rights reign unless a parent’s choice doesn’t align with state bureaucrats. Whose job is it anyway to parent children? If Florida’s real issue is with exposing minors to sexually explicit content, then they should also vet every artist who performs at big concert venues.

Read the full editorial. No paywall here.

Know what’s a real drag? The ‘free’ state of Florida’s tired old tropes to attack LGBTQ community | Opinion https://t.co/1OV4ZjjkYb

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) March 16, 2023