In what amounted to straight fire, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back hard on Disney CEO Bob Chapek buckling to the liberal mob and speaking against The Parental Rights in Education bill passed this week by the state legislature, highlighting Disney’s lucrative relationship with Communist China.
The legislation bans classroom instruction on “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade, and the LGBTQ community pushed back by misrepresenting the measure as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — the word “gay” is not mentioned in the language. The media was quick to embrace the catchy phrase, dishonest as it is.
The left is pushing for the governor to veto the bill, and he addressed that possibility as well as the Disney CEO’s actions.
“So here’s what I can tell you: In the state of Florida, we are not going to allow them to inject transgenderism into kindergarten,” DeSantis said, to thunderous applause. “First-graders shouldn’t have woke gender ideology imposed in their curriculums, and that is what we’re standing for, because we’re standing for the kids and we’re standing for the parents. And I can tell you this: The chance that I am going to back down from my commitment to students and back down from my commitment to parents’ rights simply because of fraudulent media narratives or pressure from woke corporations; the chances of that are zero.”
In a video exclusively obtained by @FoxNews Digital. @GovRonDeSantis slams #Disney saying “In Florida, our policies got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not on the musing of woke corporations.” pic.twitter.com/Op87xgsLzB
— Kelly Laco (@kelly_laco) March 10, 2022
“And when you have companies that have made a fortune off being family-friendly and catering to families and young kids, they should understand that parents of young kids do not want this injected into their kids’ kindergarten classroom,” he continued. “They do not want their first-graders to go and be told that they can choose an opposite gender. That is not appropriate for those kids. So, if you’re family-friendly, understand that parents who are actually raising families want to have their rights respected.”
Turning his attention to Disney, DeSantis blasted the company for its hypocrisy.
“And I also think you have companies, like at Disney, that are going to say and criticize parents’ rights, they’re going to criticize the fact that we don’t want transgenderism in kindergarten, in first-grade classrooms,” he said. “If that’s the hill they’re going to die on, then how do they possibly explain lining their pockets with their relationship from the Communist Party of China? Because that’s what they do and they make a fortune, and they don’t say a word about the really brutal practices that you see over there at the hands of the CCP.
“And so in Florida, our policies got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not on the musing of woke corporations,” he concluded.
Chapek denounced the legislation Wednesday during the company’s annual shareholder meeting, following a concerted campaign by the left pressuring Disney to do so — he also announced that Disney will be donating $5 million to LGTBQ groups.
“I understand that many are upset that we did not speak out against the bill,” Chapek said, according to FOX 35 Orlando. “We were opposed to the bill from the outset, but we chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind the scenes, working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.”
“I called Gov. DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if the legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary, and transgender kids and families,” he added.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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