Federal judge tosses challenge to Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a challenge to a Florida law that restricts the discussion of sexuality and gender identity with younger students, and that critics have maligned as an anti-LGBT "Don't Say Gay" law.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor determined that the group of Florida students, parents and teachers who brought the challenge failed to prove that they had standing to bring the case to the federal bench.

"Plaintiffs have shown a strident disagreement with the new law, and they have alleged facts to show its very existence causes them deep hurt and disappointment," he said, according to the Miami Herald. "But to invoke a federal court's jurisdiction, they must allege more."

Winsor previously dismissed an earlier version of the same case in September 2022, CBS News and the Associated Press reported. The judge observed that the plaintiffs' claims of harm derived from the law's mere existence instead of its enforcement.

To advance the suit, the judge determined, the plaintiffs needed to show that they were directly harmed because of the new law and to prove that a ruling from the court could address it, which they failed to do.

Formally known as the Parental Rights in Education law, the Florida legislature enacted the legislation last year as part of a broader, ongoing effort by the state to remove political and social indoctrination from public schools.

Specifically, the law states that "[c]lassroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in  Kindergarten through third grade or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

A Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted in March of last year indicated that 61% of respondents supported the measure after reading it.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.