MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - South Florida’s LGBTQ+ community and their allies gathered by the dozens to make sure their opposition to a controversial state legislation is heard loud and clear.
7News cameras captured demonstrators at the “Say Gay” rally held at Pride Park, located across from the Miami Beach Convention Center, late Sunday afternoon.
“We say gay!” protesters chanted.
“Our voices need to be heard louder and louder and louder,” said attendee Nancy Suarez.
A mix of gay and straight people joined forces to push back against the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Opponents of the bill said it targets the LGBTQ+ community.
“We’re preparing our children for tomorrow. They need to be who they are, they need to be confident, they need to know what they want out of life, and they need to be able to say it,” said attendee Franchesca D’Amore.
The bill, which passed the Florida Senate last Tuesday in a 22-17 vote, forbids Florida teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
Supporters of the bill say parents, not teachers, should be the ones teaching their children about this subject.
But the bill’s critics say it instead promotes discrimination.
“If you talk about a mommy and a daddy, just because that’s more homogeneous to society, that’s just going to be spoken about, but what if you have a trans mother, or if you have two dads or two moms?” said Suarez. “Now that sexual orientation is outside of the box, it’s just a roundabout way to have more and more bigotry towards us.”
Although the bill is inching closer to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, demonstrators at Sunday’s rally hope their last-ditch effort will change his mind.
“Having rallies and vigils across the state amplifies our voices in a way that hopefully the governor will hear,” said attendee Matthew Land. “Maybe he will; maybe he won’t. I don’t think so, but listen, we need to bring awareness and let the broader community know what’s going on in Tallahassee.”
DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law, but it remains unclear when this will happen.
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