The Crimson White Print Edition - September 7, 2023

4B
opinion
Let’s talk about Florida:
How southern states are going backwards
Mary Claire Wooten
Staff Columnist
It has always been
customary to see
headlines describing the
latest misfortune of Florida
residents, usually including
a dangerous crocodile
fighting a man or a hurricane
decimating the coast. Since
2018, the state has
seen headlines
describing a very
different scene, at
the hands of Gov.
Ron DeSantis.
Since his election,
DeSantis has been
pushing the boundaries
of conservatism. Florida, a
previously purple state, has
since turned deep red with
his influence.
He’s passed a series of
bills cracking down on
illegal immigration and
education standards in the
state. DeSantis has also been
targeting the transgender
youth of the state not only
in schools but in their
doctor’s offices as well. To
make matters worse, where
DeSantis goes, governors like
Kay Ivey are usually not
far behind.
Alabama is no stranger
to implementing similar
legislation regarding race,
education and many areas of
controversy. DeSantis worked
to pass the harshest state-led
anti-immigration laws in the
country. SB 1718, which was
signed on May 10 and took
effect July 1, requires that all
employers with more than
25 employees utilize E-Verify,
a website operated by the
federal government, to check
employment eligibility. All
employers who fail to do so
will be fined $1,000 a day. In
turn, using fake identification
to obtain employment will
result in a third-degree felony
charge. IDs previously issued,
in Florida or out of state, are
now invalid and effectively
banned.
According to The New
York Times, Florida relies
on an estimated 770,000
undocumented immigrants
in industries including
construction, hospitality and
agriculture. That said, the
state has already begun to
feel the effects of the new bill.
As a rapidly growing state,
Florida has long depended on
the immigrant community
to take on various forms of
work necessary for a state to
function that many Floridians
shy away from.
Projects have halted and
crews have been cut in half as
many immigrants seek work
in states where they feel safer.
Those who are approved to
work in the U.S. flee with
family members who they
fear may no longer be safe in
the Sunshine State.
Many states have
immigration laws in place,
but none holds a candle to
this one. What’s concerning
is the breadth of laws. The
laws range from businesses
to hospitals and have
widespread impacts on the
lives of those residing
in Florida.
This isn’t DeSantis’ only
work with overarching effects
on the state.
One of the most recent
attempts to halt the “woke”
agenda was altering the
curriculum regarding
African American history
standards. After passing the
Stop W.O.K.E. Act, DeSantis
made it very apparent he
believes that the hardships
and accomplishments of
African Americans were
not important enough to be
included in the curriculum.
We’re in a period when
those in academia are actively
attempting to highlight the
past and the pains caused,
when school names are
being changed from honoring
Confederates to praising
those who hoped to improve
the world around them.
People like DeSantis hope
to silence these efforts by
blocking Advanced Placement
courses focused on African
American culture, banning
books about race or gender,
and blocking critical race
CW / Shelby West
theory altogether. The
purposeful exclusion of
African American truths,
such as slavery, would
only result in a disservice
to all parties involved in
the school systems as well
as Florida citizens. The
additional recent ban of AP
Psychology classes for similar
reasons proves that the state
truly does not have the best
interests of its students in
mind when creating
these policies.
Once the news broke of
the new act, NAACP issued
a travel advisory as a direct
response to Desantis’ erasure
of diversity, equity and
inclusion efforts as well as
efforts against LGBTQ+ people
in the state.
Although critical race
theory isn’t currently taught
in K-12 classrooms in
Alabama, in 2022 four bills
were introduced that would
ban any schools that receive
government funding from
teaching about “divisive
concepts” involving race,
gender and religion. Any
educator or official who did
not uphold this notion could
be fired for doing so.
In March of 2022, DeSantis
signed HB 1557, more
commonly known as the
“Don’t Say Gay” bill, into
law after much national
pushback. The bill began by
restricting conversations
about gender identity
and sexual orientation in
schools, deeming these
topics not age-appropriate.
Students who attempted to
have conversations about
sexual identity with school
personnel were also at risk.
Only a month after
DeSantis passed “Don’t Say
Gay,” Ivey signed off on a
hefty package of bills with
a few blinding similarities.
SB 184 made providing
gender-affirming care to
minors a felony, punishable
by up to 10 years, and HB
322 bars students from using
bathrooms that align with
their gender identity.
Any change in a student’s
mental, physical or emotional
health would be subject
to be shared with parents.
Counselors are no longer a
resource for students dealing
with issues they may not feel
comfortable sharing with
family members.
Who benefits? Without
the opportunity to talk with
a confidential resource, we’re
stigmatizing LGBTQ+ youth
and putting the mental,
physical and emotional
health that was supposed to
be protected on the chopping
block.
DeSantis has expanded
into limiting gender-affirming
healthcare access for
minors, but it’s also affecting
transgender adults. If puberty
blockers and hormone
therapy are used, parents
and doctors could have legal
action taken against them.
Florida adults seeking genderaffirming
care must receive
written consent forms from
two medical boards, the Board
of Medicine and the Board of
Osteopathic Medicine.
Both boards consist of
members appointed
by the governor, and
they have already
taken action to restrict
transgender care.
To really tie the
matter home, Alabama’s
Sen. Tommy Tubberville
resides in Florida
full time, owning no
property in Alabama.
In 2020, during his race
against Jeff Sessions,
Sessions brought up his
ties to Florida and even
included a video dated
2017 of Tuberville stating
he had “hung up his
whistle and moved to Santa
Rosa Beach, Florida.”
DeSantis is effectively
inserting politics in areas
that were previously private
concerns. If the state is to fix
its many issues, it needs to
start with its elected officials.
The same can be said
for Alabama.
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