https://apnews.com/article/florida-ron-desantis-education-book-bans-65daf4420318a837487976c10bb75d86TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Two years ago, Democrats repeatedly and forcefully warned Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis that a new law making it easier to challenge school books was so broadly worded that it would create havoc across the state.Now they can say, “I told you so.”DeSantis backtracked on the 2022 law on Tuesday when he signed a bill narrowing its focus. He blamed liberal activists for abusing the law, not the citizens whose objections to certain books account for the majority of book removals from school libraries and classrooms.“The idea that someone can use the parents rights and the curriculum transparency to start objecting to every single book to try to make a mockery of this is just wrong,” DeSantis said the day before the bill signing. “That’s performative. That’s political.”Coincidentally, PEN America, a group that fights book bans, issued a report Tuesday saying Florida is responsible for 72% of the books that have been pulled from the nation’s schools in the first half of the current school year.The organization said liberal activists are not the ones who should be blamed for abusing the law.“The majority of books that we see being removed are books that talk about LBTQ+ identities, that include characters of color, that talk about race and racism, that include depictions of sexual experiences in the most broadest interpretation of that understanding,” said Kasey Meehan, Pen America’s Freedom to Read program director.
Those challenges are being made by conservative individuals and groups such as Moms For Liberty, Meehan said.The original law allowed any person — parent or not, district resident or not — to challenge books as often as they wanted. Once challenged, a book has to be pulled from shelves until the school district resolves the complaint. The new law limits people who don’t have students in a school district to one challenge per month.The PEN America report says Florida is responsible for 3,135 of the 4,349 school book bans in the United States so far this school year. Just this week in conservative Clay County, one person challenged 40 books, Meehan said.Before dropping out of the Republican presidential primary, DeSantis campaigned heavily on his education platform, including the law giving people more power to challenge books.“It’s just a big mess that DeSantis created and now he’s trying to disown it, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to distance himself from this because he campaigned on it so hard,” said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell.It’s not the only example of the tough-talking governor having to make adjustments to ideology he championed while seeking the White House.He also has made concessions in the settlement of several lawsuits involving the state and Walt Disney World. The dispute between them erupted in 2022 after the company spoke out against a DeSantis-backed law that opponents dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” The law bans classroom lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The Associated Press asked DeSantis’ office for examples of liberal activists abusing the law and it provided one: Chaz Stevens, a South Florida resident who has often lampooned government. Stevens raised challenges in dozens of school districts over the Bible, dictionaries and thesauruses.The change to the law “ensures that book challenges are limited for individuals, like Chaz, who do not have children with access to the school district’s materials,” DeSantis spokeswoman Julia Friedland said in an email. She didn’t reply to follow-up emails requesting more examples.Stevens, who 11 years ago made national news when he installed a Festivus pole made out of beer cans across from a nativity scene displayed in the Capitol, was delighted DeSantis’ office singled him out.“When they need to make stupid stupider, they send me up. I’m part comedian, I’m part activist, I’m part artist. I just want a better society,” Stevens said. “I’m an idiot, but a smart guy at the same time.”While DeSantis’ predecessor, current Republican Sen. Rick Scott, allowed what was then called the “free speech zone” in the Capitol rotunda, the rules changed under DeSantis and new barriers were put in place to use Capitol space for political expression. The League of Women Voters and Stevens are among the applicants who have been denied access under the new rules.“I didn’t realize that I have the power of millions!” Stevens said. “I’m just one guy. I’m an agitator. I know my role in this.”Driskell pointed out that DeSantis was warned there would be problems when the book ban law passed in 2022.“We told him so. The Florida House Democrats on the floor — in our debate, in our questioning — pointed out the vagueness in the original law and how it could be subject to abuse,” she said. “Chaz is not the problem. It’s the folks who are taking liberties with the law who are the problem.”
>>1288189I'M OUTRAGED!!1 HE OUGHT TO APOLOGIZE!111
Jack & Jill went up the hillto fetch a pail of water.Jill fell down and broke her crownand Jack came tumbling after.Ban this now.What were these 2 doing up on the hill unchaperoned, and what caused these 2 to 'cum tumbling down'?
>libshits still furious they can't show porn to kids in Florida schools
>>1288235It makes me angry
It doesnt end until you kill them
>>1288190>Moms For Liberty>Tiffany Justice>Co-Founder>Tiffany is a wife and mom of four school-aged children. In 2016 she stepped up to serve for 4 years on the School District of Indian River County, FL School Board. She believes that kids in public school deserve innovation and parents have the right to know the union interference and government bureaucracy that is keeping that innovation from happening in their children’s district.>Tina Descovich>Co-Founder>Tina has a long record of fighting for students and parental rights in Florida and at the national level. She was elected to the Brevard County, FL school board in 2016. She was selected by her peers in 2017 to serve as Vice Chairman and Chairman in 2018. While on the school board she was a member of The Florida Coalition of School Board Members and served as the organization’s president in 2018. Tina currently serves on several nonprofit boards in her community that are aimed at helping children. She and her husband Derek have five children. She is passionate about America and is dedicated to protecting liberty and freedom for the future of all children.So these two women heard the call to action in 2016 to join the school board and now they're fighting DeSantis in court to keep pornography in public schools, and I'm supposed to believe these are conservatives?Do you think I'm some retarded libshit?
>>1288251I was going to read this post but I have to rush off to Buttsecks class, after Math.Darn. Mr. & Mr. Greenberg won't use any lube when the DAP me if I'm late.
>>1288251They're not just conservatives but evangelical Trump voters and MAGA superstars.https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/icymi-fraudulent-maga-political-operation-moms-for-liberty-exposed-by-newest-scandal
>Those who burn books will in the end burn people.Can't wait!
>>1288259That's why I like them. They aren't satanist trans demons who vote for zombie Joe.
>>1288268Satanist trans demon here. Zombie Biden is clearly the better candidate.
>>1288324Fuck off Sharebrains, zombie shill.
>>1288251>Christian Ziegler, Florida GOP Chair and husband to Moms For Liberty co-founder Bridget,Wait, how many co-founders does this organization have, and why isn't this chick listed on the website?>Christian Ziegler, whose company was on Moms For Liberty’s payroll as recently as last year, has faced growing calls for his resignation from Florida GOP leadership, including from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In a media training for Moms For Liberty members, he once instructed the group that “apologizing makes you weak,” a strategy he is putting to the test in his refusal to step aside after rape allegations.So a personal vendetta?
>>1288345> in October 2023 by a woman who took part in a threesome a year prior with both Christian and his wife Bridget> In the report, the woman filing the complaint said that the Zieglers asked to have a threesome that day and plans were being made, but it got too late for Bridget to attend and because her interest in participation with Bridget was her main motivation, the complainant had cancelled the plan. Christian showed up alone, nonetheless, and that encounter resulted in the sexual assault complaint.he's plainly guilty in threesome court, at the very least
>>1288235>>1288251>Every thing I don't like is pornography and if you disagree with me politically you are pedophileI'm constantly shocked at how low quality conservative talking points are. I can't imagine anything more lazy than this.
>>1288346So at best a pretend conservative; at worst an actual libshit infiltrator associated with people and an organization now trying to sue DeSantis to keep porn in schools.
>>1288349i love the quantum RINO
>>1288350In the mind of the schizo conservative every eventuality is governed by a quantum conspiracy. If subject A does a good thing then they are a good conservative. If subject A does a bad thing then they were either a) a secret false flag agent installed to make conservatives look bad or b) not actually a conservative. The thought pattern of right wing conspiracy schizos can be boiled down to simple math equations because they've invented a world in which they can never be wrong and nobody on their side could ever do something bad. You can predict their positions on literally anything. Just plug the variables into the equation.
>>1288354It turns out people's actions actually do matter more than their words.
>>1288366is that why the popular vote turns republicans mutinous
>>1288367>popular voteSince when is that how we run elections?
>>1288372since when have republicans won the popular vote? not a good look
