A spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a claim on Twitter over the weekend regarding the state's "Don't Say Gay" bill and is now receiving heavy criticism for her remarks.
"The bill that liberals inaccurately call 'Don’t Say Gay' would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill," Christina Pushaw tweeted on March 4.
"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," Pushaw added. "Silence is complicity. This is how it works, Democrats, and I didn't make the rules."
The bill would prevent what public schools can teach about sexual orientation and gender identity. These types of lessons "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."
"Don't Say Gay" is officially called the Parental Rights in Education bill and was passed on Tuesday by the Florida Senate with a vote of 22-17. It will now head to the governor's desk.
Gov. DeSantis has expressed his support for the bill, but has not clearly said that he will sign it. If he were to, it would go into effect on July 1.
Equality Florida, a LGBTQ+ rights organization, tweeted in response to Pushaw's comments, and said this is the same type of language that has been used against the LGBTQ+ community for years.
". @GovRonDeSantis’ spokesperson has said the quiet part out loud: that this bill is grounded in a belief that LGBTQ people, simply by existing, are a threat to children and must be erased," the organization tweeted. "He chose @ChristinaPushaw to speak his mind. He owns this unbridled hate."
"This is the same deeply bigoted language that has long been weaponized against LGBTQ people to justify discrimination & violence against us. Make no mistake — the Gov is announcing that he supports the true intent of the Don’t Say Gay bill: that LGBTQ people should be erased."
The term "grooming" is defined by the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) as: "manipulative behaviors that the abuser uses to gain access to a potential victim, coerce them to agree to the abuse, and reduce the risk of being caught."
Florida Rep. Carlos G. Smith, the first LGBTQ Latino legislator in the state, also took to Twitter to speak out against Pushaw's comments, calling them "disgusting and dangerous." He added that she should resign from her position.
"#DeSantis’ spokesperson openly accused opponents of #DontSayGay of being ‘groomers’— aka PEDOPHILES," Smith tweeted. "Bigoted attacks like this against LGBTQ people are the worst of the worst. They’re disgusting and dangerous and have NO PLACE in the Guv’s office. @ChristinaPushaw must resign."
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