(RepublicanNews.org) – Police arrested at least a dozen protesters and escorted them out of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ office on May 3rd after the protestors parked themselves on the floor and refused to move.
The angry demonstrators were upset with recent Florida legislation regarding the compelled use of “preferred pronouns” in public schools, and new laws on “diversity” teaching in colleges.
Two bills passed both chambers of the state house and Gov. DeSantis is expected to sign them. One bill prevents either students or teachers from being compelled to use requested or preferred pronouns for other people. The second bill bans the use of state money in colleges to pay for so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs.
DEI advocates say their programs are merely about teaching “accurate history” about racism. Opponents say they are thinly veiled ideological efforts that paint a hard-left political goal as mere “education”.
As is common, many Democratic Florida lawmakers have labeled the bills “racist” and “transphobic.”
Many of the protestors were part of an organization that calls itself “Dream Defenders”. The demonstrators sat inside DeSantis’ office in the Capital building with locked arms, refusing to move or comply with police warnings to leave the building in 20 minutes.
DeSantis was not in the building at the time. Cops warned protesters to leave at 7 pm, then began arresting them at 7:30. The protestors face trespassing charges, and may be banned from the Capitol building for a year if convicted.
Upcoming legislation may prove a tempting target for future protests. Several bills are being considered that would ban schools from teaching about “gender identity” and sexual orientation until 9th grade. One bill would let parents challenge school books that they believe are inappropriate for children. If the reaction from the left follows past behavior, opponents are likely to try to characterize these bills as attacks or “violence” against allegedly marginalized people.
Ron DeSantis has become known as the “anti-woke” governor for the stands he’s taken against hard-left ideas about education.
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