Florida Law Will Allow Doctors to Deny Treatments to LGBTQ Patients

Governor Ron DeSantis insists his recent remarks attacking U.S. Senator Ted Cruz should not be viewed as an endorsement of the biblical call for gay people to be executed.

This year’s Gay Days, the annual LGBTQ+ pride event that draws tens of thousands to Walt Disney World and other attractions around Orlando, is taking place amid concerns over the ultimate impact of a series of new laws championed by Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to “destroy leftism in America” and leave woke ideology behind in his Memorial Day appearance on “Fox and Friends.”When asked why he chose to declare candidacy for the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election now instead of waiting for former president Donald Trump to serve a second term and then run, the governor replied that everyone knows if he is nominated, he will beat Biden and then serve two terms.“I will be able to destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology on the dustbin of history. At the end of the day, I’ve shown in Florida an ability to win huge swaths of voters that Republicans typically can’t win — while also delivering the boldest agenda anywhere in the country,” DeSantis said.

Is it really a surprise to anyone that the same people who are trying to censor LGBT and Black history through the banning of books are the same ones PROMOTING white supremacy and Nazism? Because there seems to be a theme going here!

Well, this is infuriating!

wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. The request to ban “The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country,” which includes Gorman’s now-famous spoken word “The Hill We Climb” that she recited at the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden was made in March, per a complaint Gorman also posted on Twitter. In the ban request the complainant claimed “The Hill We Climb” contains content that is “not educational,” and that it is “indirectly hate messages.” They also stated that the subject matter is “not for schools” and it can “cause confusion” and “indoctrinates students.” On the document, the complainant stated that Oprah Winfrey was the “author/publisher” of the book though the poem was written by Gorman. “Book bans aren’t new. But they have been on the rise—according to the ALA, 40% more books were challenged in 2022 compared to 2021,” Gorman continued.

Elon Musk basically confirmed today that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to announce his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Twitter tomorrow in an interview with the platform’s owner himself.

Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan protested Florida’s new anti-drag ban on stage at the band’s Daytona Beach gig last night (May 21).On Sunday, the band played the Welcome To Rockville festival, and Keenan appeared on stage in drag, protesting the new bill that became law this week.The law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, prohibits minors from attending drag shows amongst a number of other anti-trans policies.This year’s Welcome To Rockville was an all-ages festival, meaning that Keenan was technically in breach of the new law for his actions.See footage from the show, in which Keenan wore a blonde wig, red lipstick and fake breasts, below.Maynard of TooL (a perfect circle and puscifer also) is an absolute legend. Performing last night, in drag at their Florida show.

If the feud between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was going to be escalated yet again, parks chief Josh D’Amaro didn’t seem like he would be the one to do it.

If you figured the war between Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis was going to take a breather for the weekend, think again.

In the week since Wilton Manors’ city commission voted unanimously to amend the permit for the Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival, people on both sides of the issue on whether or not to comply with drag laws have lashed out.

Just over a week ago, Bob Iger rhetorically asked the adversarial  Gov. Ron DeSantis if Florida really wanted Disney’s considerable business and tax revenue, or not. Now, without mentioning the would-be presidential contender nor his attacks on the company, the Mouse House has pulled some of that business and taxes revenues from the Sunshine State.

Joe Scarborough took some time to crack jokes about gay Republicans in the Senate on Wednesday’s “Morning Joe” after discussion of Florida’s investigation of a teacher who showed her students the Disney film “Strange World,” which features a gay character.Scarborough began with Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” which has Jenna Barbee is under investigation for potentially violating after she showed her class the film about environmentalism. Scarborough mocked the media reaction to the bill, which at first only applied to kindergarten through third grade for limiting sex education.

Rita Ferro, Disney’s ad sales and partnerships chief, urged media buyers at the company’s New York upfront Tuesday to “lean into all aspects of diversity” with their marketing commitments.

The Walt Disney Co. is asking a judge to dismiss or stay a state lawsuit brought by the special district that oversees its Florida property, calling the litigation “moot” given recent actions taken by the state.

McKinley Franklin editor Jenna Barbee, a fifth-grade Florida teacher, is under investigation by the Florida Department of Education after showing her class the animated Disney movie “Strange World,” which features an openly gay character. In a video posted to TikTok, Barbee said that she is being investigated for indoctrination after showing the film. “Our students had standardized testing all morning,” Barbee said in the video. “I thought it would be a great time to give them a brain break by showing a movie that related to what we were learning about in school…I chose this movie because it relates to our curriculum.” Prior to showing the film, Barbee acquired signed parent permission slips from students. She was then reported to the Florida Department of Education for indoctrination by Shannon Rodriguez, a board member of the Hernando County School District Board and parent of a student in Barbee’s class. The complaint related to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that has limited conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. 

The gloves are off, when it comes to the ongoing brouhaha between Disney CEO Bob Iger and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which has reached a crescendo with Disney suing the governor last month and the governor suing back. “This is about one thing and one thing only and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in as taking that position, we are merely exercising our right to free speech.

“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more and pay more taxes or not?” Disney CEO Bob Iger rhetorically asked today of the on-going attacks on the Mouse House by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

William Earl Disney CEO Bob Iger criticized Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s political moves in Florida on the company’s May 10 Q2 earnings call. The business-political feud was brought up as a result of a shareholder asking about the parks in Florida while there are political battles with the governor. “Regarding Florida, I got a few things I want to say about that bill,” he said. “First of all, if the case that we filed last month, made our position and the facts very clear, and that’s really that this is about one thing and one thing only and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position we are merely exercising our right to free speech. Also, this is not about special privileges or a level playing field or Disney in any way using its leverage around the state of Florida.

The Walt Disney Co. filed an amended lawsuit against Florida governor Ron DeSantis after the state legislature moved to void a 30-year theme park development agreement.