LBGTQ Rally in Lake Worth Beach

Palm Beach Post Photo

Trans community, rallying in LW Beach, vows to withstand new laws

About 100 people walked from Compass to the Lake Worth Cultural Plaza during Friday's March for Queer and Trans Youth Autonomy. They carried trans pride flags adorned with pink, blue and white stripes — a design created by Monica Helms, a trans woman, in 1999.

What they are demonstrating about:

Florida's SB 254 would prohibit anyone under age 18 from undergoing transgender sex-reassignment surgeries or taking prescription-based cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria.

"This legislation sends a strong message that Florida is a safe place to raise children. As the father of four young boys, I know that childhood is as special as it is short. Florida parents are worried about the radical, prurient agenda that has become pervasive across most forms of media, specifically targeting young children.

The Palm Beach Post reports as follows and my explanation in red: SB 254 (Granting courts of this state temporary emergency jurisdiction over a child present in this state if the child has been subjected to or is threatened with being subjected to sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures;) and HB 1421 (gender clinical interventions) enshrine a ban on gender-affirming health care for trans youth into law, including criminal penalties for health care providers who take part in such treatments. The bills also state that a child custody determination can be entered, modified or stayed “to the extent necessary to protect the child from being subjected to gender clinical interventions.”

HB 1069 (revises provisions relating to instruction & materials for specified instruction relating to reproductive health; provides additional requirements for instruction regarding human sexuality; provides district school boards are responsible for materials used in classroom libraries; revises provisions relating to objections of certain materials & process related to such objections; revises school principal, school district & district school board duties & responsibilities relating to certain materials & processes.) and HB 1223 (Requires specified policies relating to person's sex at public K-12 educational institutions; prohibits specified actions relating to use of certain titles & pronouns; & revises requirements for instruction on sexual orientation & gender identity in public schools. referred to Education and Employment Committee) would ban school employees from asking a student for “his or her preferred personal title or pronouns,” and it would prevent school employees from sharing their own pronouns if they don't “correspond to his or her sex.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is also working to ban classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, elementary through high school. The proposal, which would not require legislative approval, is scheduled for a vote by the State Board of Education.