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The issue here is not, as much ignorance, as the fact you cannot base the future of America on fear. Micah Baxler is a geriatric psychiatrist – not a childhood development expert, one could argue, and his suspicion that some evil teachers are grooming young children to be gay and trans. In his response to the pointed question of Senator Polsky (watch his response here ), Baxley responded elusively, mentioning concepts like “social engineering” or stating that “ discussed with psychiatrist son and cannot figure out why so many people are coming out as trans or gay these days.” His son Dr. He ultimately admitted that his bill was motivated by his personal feelings of loss, his fear for his grandkids, and ultimately of death (which is ironic for a funeral director but understandable).
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He often looked like a deer caught in the headlights when asked about the legal consequences of this bill or the mechanisms to monitor teachers’ class discussions. At first, I had some negative assumptions about Senator Dennis Baxley, but as the hours went by, I started to see him as a well-meaning figure, a self-described father of 5 – including two adopted children – and grandfather of 8. I watched the whole thing unfold from my bed as I am unfortunate enough to have caught the tail end of New York’s Omicron variant. Ultimately, most Republicans on the floor rejected all the reasonable amendments proposed on the bill that day (see Equality Florida’s press release ), and the bill is being voted on today as I type this. Then when Senator Pizzo asked Baxler to define “Sexual Orientation,” Baxler responded: “To me, sexual orientation is male and female,” conveying how little he knows on the topic. He had been married and eventually said he knew he was gay since Kindergarten. Senator Shevrin Jones’ shared an emotional personal story about his difficulties coming out to his father because it raised the question, “would his life have been different? Would he have come out earlier? If a teacher had told him that gay people are valuable and worthy.” Jones, the son of a prominent pastor in South Florida, came out in 2018 aged 34. Of course, there were other powerful moments in this important discussion. That moment in the debate and the response which followed illustrates best two different visions of the future of America, two very separate paths, and explains why we observe a deluge of anti-LGBTQ+ bills at the state level. Her question was legitimate: indeed, if Florida Republicans are genuinely concerned about teaching youth and saving the souls of children, why is the exclusive focus on the marginal topic of sexual and gender diversity? Near the end of hours of fascinating discussion on the floor of the Florida Senate over the complex and challenging to implement ‘Don’t Say Gay’ companion bills, HB1557/SB1834, Senator Tina Polsky asked a simple question of the bill’s sponsor Senator Dennis Baxley: “Why is his party legislating on the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity and not on other topics you may find inappropriate for 4 to 8 children such as drugs, suicide or war?”.