Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan appeared on CNN Sunday night to take a stance against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, calling it “absurd” and claiming such legislative action would not have been passed in his state.
Hogan, however, goes on to state that he hasn’t even read the bill, claiming that he “hasn’t seen the details” of the bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in March. State Republicans claim Hogan’s statement is a continuation of the disinformation campaign launched against the bill.
Florida Republicans have repeatedly expressed frustration over the widespread depiction of the bill throughout media, including the use of the moniker “Don’t Say Gay bill,” which lawmakers claim instills the notion that the measure extends far beyond its actual reach.
“I didn’t really actually see the details of the legislation, but the whole thing seems like a crazy fight,” Hogan said. “And now he wants to criticize Disney for expressing how they feel about that bill. I mean, they have every right to. We have a thing called freedom of speech. They can come out and say what they think.”
National media has largely misconstrued the bill, oftentimes falsely stating that its signing bans the term “gay” from Florida classrooms, and only prevents teachers from directly instructing young students about sexual orientation and gender identity.
“There’s been a lot of discussions about this particular piece of legislation. There’s been a lot of sloganeering and fake narratives by leftist politicians, by activists, and by corporate media. Now it’s true, many of the people who whip this up have not read the bill. They’d rather spend their time furthering narratives,” said DeSantis. “In the state of Florida, parents have a fundamental role in the education, healthcare, and wellbeing of their children. We will not move from that. I don’t care what corporate media outlets say, I don’t care what Hollywood says, I don’t care what big corporations say. Here I stay. I’m not backing down.”
When reached for comment, the Office of Ron DeSantis made clear that they will not be commenting on the matters of the Maryland head of state.
“We have no comment regarding Maryland or Maryland’s governor. Governor DeSantis is focused on Florida and doing what’s right for Floridians,” said Christina Pushaw, DeSantis Spokeswoman.