Georgia state senators introduced legislation March 8 similar to Florida’s recently passed Parental Rights in Education bill, which mainstream media outlets and LGBTQ activists have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Ironically, the word gay is nowhere to be found in either proposal, and neither piece of legislation suggests banning the word gay in schools.

When a reporter asked about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill during a March 7 press conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis confronted him about using the deceiving nickname and for not acknowledging that the bill is tailored to protect children grades pre-K through third from discussions about gender and sexuality that are unsuitable for young children.

“That you wouldn’t be honest about that and tell people what [the bill] actually says is why people don’t trust people like you, because you peddle false narratives,” he said to the reporter. 

Like the Florida bill, Georgia’s bill, titled the “Common Humanity in Private Education Act,” bans materials that “promote, compel or encourage classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not appropriate for the age and developmental stage of the student.” 

If passed, the bill would become effective on July 1 and would apply to private schools funded through Georgia’s GOAL scholarship program, which provides tuition scholarships to children who desire to attend private K-12 schools.

“You can’t use the woke philosophy while using taxpayer funding,” Georgia state Sen. Carden Summers, who introduced the legislation, told Axios Atlanta.

Given how late in the legislative session the bill was introduced, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution predicts that the Common Humanity in Private Education Act will not be passed, but says that specific provisions within the bill could be added to other proposals that have “already gained traction.”

Photo: Cultura Creative Ltd/Alamy