A New Florida 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Will Ban All LGBTQ+ Nonprofits, Prohibit Pronoun Use in Businesses
Introduced by Republican State Representative Ryan Chamberlin, Florida HB 599 brings the "Don't Say Gay" war from the classroom to the marketplace.
On Tuesday, November 21, Republican State Representative Ryan Chamberlin introduced House Bill 599, which will effectively ban LGBTQ+ nonprofits from operating in the state of Florida.
The Tea: HB 599 also prohibits state and local government employees–as well as businesses that are government contractors– from:
- changing their pronouns or honorifics if they do not match their assigned sex at birth
- instructing on gender identity or sexuality
Diving Deeper on Nonprofits: The bill prohibits the following:
- nonprofit organizations from providing training or instruction related to gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
Diving Deeper on Pronoun Usage: The bill prohibits the following:
- employees of state/local governments from sharing their pronouns if they don’t match their sex assigned at birth
- employees of companies that do business with the state from sharing their pronouns if they don’t match their sex assigned at birth
- employers referenced above from asking employees their pronouns
The Likely Impact on Nonprofits:
- This bill would cause many LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations to effectively cease operations in Florida
- It would also affect non-LGBTQ organizations like Planned Parenthood and progressive political organizations
Further reading:
- Full text of HB 599
- Analysis at Erin in the Morning
