Research that analyzed social media posts finds that hateful references to gays, lesbians and other LGBTQ2S+ people surged online after Florida passed a law that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
Florida House Representative Michele Rayner, left, hugs her spouse, Bianca Goolsby, during a march at city hall in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, March 12, 2022, to protest the controversial 'Don't say gay' bill.
References to pedophiles and “ grooming ” rose by more than 400 percent in the month after Florida's “Don't Say Gay” measure was approved, according to a report released Wednesday by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's largest LGBTQ2S+ advocacy groups, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit group that tracks online extremism.
Influential conservatives drove much of the increase, the researchers found, through their own posts or by liking or forwarding posts from others. They include U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and DeSantis' press secretary, Christina Pushaw, who has equated criticism of the bill with pedophilia itself.
Pushaw later defended her comments, saying she did not single out LGBTQ2S+ people in her comments or intend to attack them. She said criticism of Florida's law is misleading and political.
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