President Joe Biden Denounces Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill

In his successful 2020 White House bid, candidate Joe Biden campaigned as a unifier trying to save the soul of America. Last night, in his first State of the Union address, the 46th President of the United States doubled down on that unity theme.

A Florida Senate committee passed legislation Monday that would ban classroom discussions about LGBTQ people, referred to by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, after the state House of Representatives passed it last week.

Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday will focus, as they always do, on a laundry list of priorities, but it may end up being the most memorable for what  he says about the unfolding situation in Ukraine.

“Don’t Say Gay” bill from becoming the law of the land: failure to pass in the Senate this week (extremely unlikely), failure to be signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis who supports the bill (so again, extremely unlikely), or a block from a Florida court (again, extremely unlikely).On Monday Florida Democrats waged their best efforts to at least slow down the legislation, Florida Politics reports, which passed with a strong GOP majority in the House last week.

Jordan Moreau President Joe Biden will nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, according to the Associated Press. She will be the first Black woman in U.S. history selected for the court and a landmark moment for representation.In January, Biden promised he’d nominate the first Black woman after Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.

Florida’s House of Representatives passed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill on Thursday.The bill, officially titled Parental Rights in Education bill, passed 69 – 47. It“prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity”  and allows parents to take the school district to court if they believe a school has violated the law. It now heads to the Florida State Senate and then to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it into law.Rep.

Jen Psaki proved she’s unphased by Ted Cruz’s attempt to rouse her as she clapped back at his “Peppermint Patty” diss. During a White House briefing, a reporter asked Joe Biden’s press secretary how she feels about referring to as the Charlie Brown character. “Don’t tell him I like Peppermint Patty. So I’m not gonna take it too offensively,” she said, then turned directly to the cameras. “Senator Cruz, I like Peppermint Patty. I’m a little tougher than that. But there you go.”

Ethan Shanfeld The Florida state House of Representatives passed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill on Thursday, The Hill reports. The legislation would limit discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.The legislation, officially titled the Parental Rights in Education bill, passed in a 69-47 vote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, he announced to press on early Thursday morning (February 24).

President Joe Biden is making an announcement about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

An amendment added to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay Bill” will require schools to out LGBT students to their parents. The amendment to Florida House Bill 1557, filed by the Bill’s co-sponsor Representative Joe Harding (R) last Friday, would require schools to out sexually and gender diverse students to their parents within 6 weeks of discovery. The original bill still required disclosure but had an exemption if the disclosure could lead to “abuse, neglect or abandonment.” This exemption was removed in the current amendment. Florida Agriculture Commissioner and Candidate for Governor, Nikki Fried (D), tweeted, “This backwards cruelty must stop. Speak out against targeted hate legislation and support those leading the charge to protect civil rights like [Equality Florida] before it’s too late!”This backwards cruelty must stop.

Governor Gavin Newsom slammed Florida’s far-reaching and dangerous “Don’t Say Gay” bill, urging Sunshine state lawmakers to stop pushing the legislation which he called “nothing short of a state-sponsored intimidation of LGBTQ children.”Newsom, who has a long history of standing up for LGBTQ people and same-sex marriage, rightly noted that the Florida legislation “will put kids – who are already navigating stress – in physical and psychological danger.”Indeed, the bill’s sponsor in the House is pushing a dangerous amendment to his own bill. Currently, the bill says schools must tell parents if their children exhibit mental or physical changes, which would include coming out as or even talking about possibly being LGBTQ.

President Joe Biden said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains “distinctly possible,” as he made further warnings to Moscow of its implications while holding out the possibility of a diplomatic solution.

“Don’t Say Gay” bill, highlighting the serious harm it could cause to LGBTQ youth.The Republican-backed bill, which is working its way through Florida’s legislature, would ban discussions of LGBTQ issues “in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”Florida Republicans claim that the bill is a “parental rights” measure which will alert parents to topics that they might otherwise object to. However, Democrats have criticized the legislation, saying it will be interpreted and enforced by school districts in a way that effectively gags any discussion about LGBTQ-related topics, even in passing.Appearing on CNN Newsroom last week, Buttigieg was asked by host Jim Sciutto whether the “Don’t Say Gay” bill is “dangerous.”“Absolutely,” Buttigieg responded.

President Joe Biden told Lester Holt that NFL should want to strive to hire more Black coaches, calling it a matter of “generic decency.”

NBC News released the first clip from Lester Holt’s Super Bowl sit down on Thursday with Joe Biden, in which the president said that he’s done a “deep dive” on “about four” potential Supreme Court nominees to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer.