In 2022, February 9th , Florida State Senate Education commissioner had pass a policy related to the LGBTQ groups, which called Parental Rights in Education Bill. At first glance, we may not think this is policy have any problem or will connect with the LGBTQ group.
Li Cohen CBS news
This policy is about that topics related to gender identity will be banned at primary school levels and in cases deemed "inappropriate for a student's age or development". This bill would also cover the provision of student support services and counseling and require school district staff to provide parents with all information about a student's "mental, emotional or physical health" unless they believe that disclosure would "lead to abuse." Parents can Sue school districts that do not comply with the rules. The purpose of the bill, according to its text, is to "consolidate the fundamental right of parents to make decisions about the upbringing and control of their children." DeSantis said that “Schools should teach children to read and write, science and history. We need more civic education and understanding of the Constitution of the United States, the basic things that make our country special.”
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On the surface, Florida does not seem to do anything harmful to civil rights and LGBTQ rights. It seems that LGBTQ people still have the right to speak and participate in public life within the scope of the public, and most importantly, they still seem to enjoy the same right to marry as heterosexual people... However, we can't deny that this is a huge step back for human rights and LGBTQ equality in Florida.
Why this will hurt the right of humanity? Freedom of information is an integral part of the fundamental right of freedom of expression, as recognized by resolution 59 of the UN General Assembly adopted in 1946. This policy, without any doubt that this policy hurt the freedom of information. And at the same time, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), states that the fundamental right of freedom of expression encompasses the freedom to “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. This policy also hurt the rights of students to get new information. The American, as a liberal democratic country the government should keep the lowest control to the individual and have the ability to make sure speech freedom and everyone have alternative way to get information.
And why did this hurt the power of the LGBTQ group? If a school disallow students and teachers to talk about LGBTQ, this will make LGBTQ group become marginal in the school, and they may have a higher probability to be bulling. If the LGBTQ group is invisible, this easily has stigmatization to the LGBTQ group. This will cause a vicious circle to the LGBTQ group. The LGBTQ community is stigmatized, the LGBTQ community is less and less mentioned, more and more invisible, and the living environment of LGBTQ groups is worse and worse. The common issue for the LGBTQ community is the demand to live out their true identity in the public sphere, not be forced to "hide in the closet". In the 1980s coming out of the closet became a term for LGBTQ identity. Now Florida's department of Education is once again trying to put LGBTQ people back in the closet.
In addition, primary school is an important period for the formation of a person's self-cognition. This time should be the moment for children to understand "who I am", which is more important than simply reading and writing. By the research of the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences self-recognition during adolescence tends to be more prone to mental illness and self-harm than in primary school. Because their sense of self is challenged, it is often painful for them to rebuild their sense of self.
Citation
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-dont-say-gay-bill-lgbtq-schools-senate-committee/
https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/thematic-areas/governance/freedom-of-information/
https://www.un.org/french/documents/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/59(I)&TYPE=&referer=/english/&Lang=E
https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a19
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