Amenable Amendment

Ron DeSantis proudly proclaims that under his governorship, “Florida is where ‘woke’ goes to die”. Ron kept his state’s businesses and schools open during the pandemic. Ron refused to require inoculations against COVID or anything else. Ron allowed parents to dictate school curricula and library books.. Have Ron and his Legislature finally gone too far?

Last week, Florida State Rep. Stan McClain proposed a bill requiring that instruction on sexual health, such as health education, sexually transmitted diseases and human sexuality, “only occur in grades 6 through 12.” One of those pesky Democrats (and a woman to boot) Rep Ashley Gantt asked whether Stan’s bill would prohibit 4th and 5th grade girls from talking about their periods in school when they first start having them which is not uncommon nowadays. “The School Nurse can be a life saver for these kids.”

Stan generously conceded that it “would not be the intent” of the bill to punish girls if they came to school staff with questions or concerns about their menstrual cycle, adding that he’d be “amenable” to amendments if they were to come up. How considerate of you, Stan.

The bill ended up passing out of committee, 13–5 in a party-line vote. Guess which party voted for it? Despite Stan’s being “amenable” to letting School Nurses do their job, it passed without any amendments.

Republicans love “Law and Order”. It has been their battle cry since Nixon in ’68 and Reagan in ’80. It came down hardest on young Black men then. If Stan’s Law passes in Florida, it will come own hardest on 4th and 5th grade girls. By the way Stan, White girls get their period, too. That “amenable amendment” might have been a good idea after all.

By Ed Dufton