TALLAHASSEE — Two years after Republican lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a controversial measure restricting the use of personal pronouns in schools, legislative debate about the gender-related issue could shift to cities and counties.
John Labriola, a lobbyist for Christian Family Coalition Florida, told Marion County lawmakers Wednesday that his organization would like to see restrictions in the 2023 education law extended to city and county governments.
Labriola said he hopes the issue will be considered during this year’s legislative session, which will start March 4. As of Wednesday afternoon, such legislation had not been filed, according to the House and Senate websites.
“We’re asking for that (the 2023 law) to be extended to the county and the city governments, as well, because this is an area where individuals who work for city and county governments, their religious liberties and also their freedom of speech is being curtailed by employers who impose gender ideology,” Labriola said during a Marion County delegation meeting.
The 2023 law said, in part, that school employees and students “may not be required, as a condition of employment or enrollment or participation in any program, to refer to another person using that person's preferred personal title or pronouns if such personal title or pronouns do not correspond to that person's sex.” The state defines sex as what was assigned at birth.
Also, the law said that school employees “may not provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.”
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction that blocked enforcement of the 2023 law against transgender Hillsborough County teacher Katie Wood, who challenged its constitutionality. The lawsuit contends that Wood should be able to use her preferred pronouns while at work.
The state appealed Walker’s ruling, and a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in September. The panel has not issued an opinion.
Labriola said Wednesday that some counties have adopted policies on gender-identity issues, such as on the use of pronouns. Under the potential legislation, if an employee is “not comfortable using a preferred pronoun and would rather use the person’s actual pronoun, that they would not be punished or fired for using that pronoun,” he said.
Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, a Belleview Republican who is part of the Marion County delegation, and Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed such legislation for the 2024 session, but it did not get heard.
