Media Outlets Adopt Activist ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Label For Florida Bill on Schools
The Florida State Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would limit teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools from kindergarten through third grade. It now goes to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it into law.
Critics of the legislation have taken to calling it Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, arguing it entails a dangerous ban of even uttering the word “gay” in classrooms. But while many major news outlets have accurately described the bill and its contents, far too many have adopted this label for the legislation in their headlines.
“‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill passes in Florida, goes to governor” read a headline from the Associated Press. “Florida lawmakers pass ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill” read a headline from Axios. “‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill passes Florida Senate,” read a headline from ABC News.
Many more outlets have done the same. Here is the AP alert for their story:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida legislature has passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign into law.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 8, 2022
Of course, it is not the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. As noted in the body of most of these reports, “Don’t Say Gay” is the label given to the bill by its critics. So why are outlets like the Associated Press adopting that label themselves in supposedly objective headlines?
As supporters of the bill have pointed out, “don’t say gay” is not mentioned in the bill.
The bill states, “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.”
Critics have a point that the language of the legislation is vague and that it poses a challenge to the First Amendment — that does not exempt news outlets from reporting on its contents objectively.
National Review’s David Harsanyi made this excellent point:
If Republicans had decided to call the Democrats’ recent abortion bill — on demand, until crowning, paid for by taxpayers — the “Let’s Kill Babies” bill (though pretty accurate, actually), no major news agency would have allowed those words to creep into their reporting, much less used it in a headline. If liberals want to engage in hyperbole, that’s their business, but how can we trust outlets that shamelessly regurgitate their propaganda? (That’s rhetorical.)
News headlines, and news in general, that parrots partisan talking points isn’t journalism. Yet it is what too many in the press have done as it pertains to this Florida legislation.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
