Florida Wants to Pass a “Don’t Say Gay” Law for Workplaces
HB 599 has been dubbed as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill for government and private work environments.Under the bill, state and local government employers and contractors — which the bill defines as any “individual, partnership, corporation, or business entity” that “enters or attempts to enter into a contract for services” with any state, county, municipality, or special tax district in Florida — would be barred from using pronouns and honorific titles that do not match their assigned sex at birth, which is described as “an immutable biological trait.”As noted by transgender journalist Erin Reed, due to the bill’s wide-ranging definition of “contractors,” the prohibition would apply to private businesses, stadiums, convention centers, hospitals, insurance agencies, and any other entities that contract with local jurisdictions.“Florida Republicans just filed legislation that would essentially ban gender pronouns in PRIVATE businesses and prohibit trainings about pronouns in nonprofits too,” wrote State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) on the social media platform X.