Reaction to Florida Punishing Disney for Opposing “Don’t Say Gay”
metroweekly.comNBC News. To handle other matters, such as policing or the courts, Disney has partnered with other local governments to share some of the burden.But DeSantis became fixated on the special status granted to Disney after the company spoke out against and called for the repeal of a so-called “parental rights” measure he signed into law limiting LGBTQ content or discussions in schools.The law, which goes into effect July 1, has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics.
Under its provisions, teachers are prohibited from facilitating class discussions touching on sexual orientation or gender identity through the third grade, or in older grades, if the material can be deemed not to be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”Ironically, when the law was first proposed Disney had sought to remain neutral by avoiding taking a firm stance on the proposed legislation — which suited Florida Republicans just fine.
But the company soon faced an internal backlash from its LGBTQ employees and their allies within Disney and several Disney subsidiaries.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who initially defended the decision to avoid speaking about political issues, was ultimately forced to apologize for the company’s inaction, and Disney issued a statement after the bill was signed into law calling for its repeal.
Read more on metroweekly.com
