Last week, Florida lawmakers advanced a bill that would prohibit classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade. Additionally, the bill states that parents cannot be blocked from obtaining health and education records on their child that are created or used by the school. While leftist media outlets and the like have attacked the bill, a poll published this week shows just how many Americans support it.
A poll conducted by conservative news outlet The Daily Wire shows that two-thirds of American adults support the key components of Florida's House Bill 1557, which is the “Parental Rights in Education” bill. Liberals and leftist media have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The national poll conducted over the weekend consisted of 1000 respondents. Broken down by political party, the respondents were 37 percent Democrat, 32 Republican, and 31 percent Independent. The researchers who conducted the poll on behalf of The Daily Wire work for technology platform Lucid.
In the findings, 64 percent of respondents support Florida’s ban on classroom instructions on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade. Twenty-one percent of respondents opposed the bill.
Overall, The Daily Wire reported that the measure is supported by 69 percent of Republicans, 62 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Independents. Sixty-eight percent of parents supported the bill.
“A clear majority of Americans (65%), including 69% of parents, say it is “inappropriate” for teachers to instruct students in grades K-3 on sexual orientations while 21% say it is ‘appropriate,’” the poll write-up stated.
Additionally, 66 percent of the respondents, including 69 percent of parents, said it is “inappropriate” for teachers to instruct students kindergarten through third grade on different gender identities. On the contrary, 20 percent said it is “appropriate.”
In a statement to The Daily Wire, Florida state House Speaker Chris Sprowls said the results are to be expected.
“This polling reflects what our common sense already tells us,” Sprowls said. “Only fanatics think the classroom curriculum from kindergarten through 3rd grade should include teaching little children about gender identity.”
DeSantis’ Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told The Daily Wire that “most Floridians, no matter their orientation, agree that instruction on sexuality and gender theory is inappropriate in grades K-3.”
The poll found that 79 percent of respondents believe parents should be responsible for driving conversations on topics like gender identity with their children. A mere seven percent said teachers should be initiating the conversation.