Earlier this year, Florida lawmakers passed, and GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signed, the "Parental Rights in Education" bill, which bars teachers from exposing K-3 students to transgender and sexual identity curriculum and materials because they are simply too young to process the nuances and complexities of the subject matter. The legislature's majority Republicans -- as well as DeSantis -- simply believe that the subject matter is inappropriate for that age group, but of course, left-wing Democrats disagree because their party has become the party of child groomers, and frankly, that's disgusting.
In any event, Disney took the side of Democrats because the company is either run by like-minded individuals or by cowards who refuse to stand up to the tiny minority of loud-mouthed leftists who see no issue with child grooming.
Now, DeSantis and the Florida legislature have moved to revoke Disney's "special self-governing status" in the Sunshine State, which will then subject the entertainment behemoth to new rules and other restrictions that could be imposed by state and county governments, Fox News reports:
The Florida Senate approved a bill Wednesday that dissolves special self-governing status given to Disney over 50 years ago after the company publicly feuds with Republicans over a controversial parental rights bill.
The Republican-controlled chamber passed the bill, by a margin of 23–16, that would dissolve special status granted to the company that essentially allows Disney to self-govern on its large property near Orlando.
It should be noted that the law is not "controversial" to anyone but Democrats and their allies in the 'mainstream' media, both of whom have generated this 'controversy.' It's not controversial -- to rational people -- to want to prevent discussions of gay sex and transitioning from one gender to the other with the youngest of our citizens for the purpose of propagandizing them.
In any event, the special status was granted to Disney under provisions of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, signed into law by then-Gov. Claude Kirk in May 1967 following intense lobbying efforts by Disney. The entertainment behemoth proposed building a recreational destination on 25,000 acres of property then in a remote area of Orange and Osceola counties in Central Florida involving 38.5 square miles of what was mostly uninhabited pasture and swampland at the time.
Neither county had the capacity or resources necessary to get the project off the ground, so the state legislature worked with Disney to establish what became the Reedy Creek Improvement Project, "a special taxing district that allows the company to act with the same authority and responsibility as a county government," Fox News reported.
Wednesday's passage of legislation rescinding that status came at the calling of DeSantis, who has had it with Disney officials who somehow believe they have an inherent right to interfere in the state's politics.
"What I would say as a matter of first principle is I don’t support special privileges in law just because a company is powerful and they’ve been able to wield a lot of power," DeSantis noted last month during a press conference as he was engaged in a back-and-forth with Disney over the legislation which bars classroom instruction pertaining to "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" with K-3 students "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
In a statement, Disney noted: "Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country."
The words "Don't Say Gay" do not appear anywhere in the legislation; that is simply the name given it by the left, which reduces every complex issue down to a slogan or a narrative.
But no matter; DeSantis and Republicans are fed up with Disney's meddling, and they're taking action. It's about time.
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