Florida Phoenix
The Florida Phoenix reached out to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, about calls from Florida lawmakers for her firing or resignation regarding tweets she made over the weekend on controversial legislation restricting classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity.
She provided her response in an email to the Phoenix Monday afternoon: Pushaw said:
“It’s inappropriate for adults to instruct children in VPK-3rd grade (ages 3-9) about sexuality. There is no good reason a teacher needs to talk to a 7-year-old about sex, any questions a child has at that age should be addressed by their parent or guardian. Talking about adult topics with young children is a tactic of groomers, and as I said, not everyone who opposes the bill is a groomer — but they apparently don’t see a problem with adults instructing very young children about sexual topics. And sadly, that creates an environment where grooming can happen.”
“The Governor has never referred to the bill as an anti-grooming bill or used that term. It was my personal account and I was tweeting off-work hours. The Governor in his statements about this legislation, has emphasized the importance of parental rights and making sure all instruction in our schools is developmentally appropriate. For ages 3-9, classroom instruction on sexual topics is not developmentally appropriate, and it’s difficult to understand why anyone would disagree.”
“I don’t regret raising concerns about child safeguarding. The only people who singled out the LGBT community are the opponents of the bill, who have been baselessly accusing us of homophobia — when the bill itself doesn’t single out the LGBT community or even mention the word “gay.” Any type of sexual content, whether it’s straight, LGBT or anything else, is inappropriate for 3- to 9-year-old children — and I can’t believe that is controversial to rational adults.”
Following those comments, the Phoenix provided information about the bill in question, HB 1557 says: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
Opponents to the bill have referred to it as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
HB 1557 has drawn nationwide attention and protests across the state, and is considered one of the main “culture war” bills to be considered in the 2022 legislative session in Florida. Crowds have continued to be in the Capitol building Monday, awaiting the HB 1557 discussion in the Senate.
The Phoenix has covered this exchange and the bill in question. You can read our two previous stories published Monday here and here.
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Danielle Brown reporting via Florida Phoenix.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
17 comments
PuSHAW
March 8, 2022 at 5:40 am
If you got anymore personal accounts christy
Use them to get to get to Ukraine and stop Russian missiles with that FOREHEAD!
Steve. K
March 8, 2022 at 5:46 am
She just wants the attention her dad never gave her
Daddy’s girl
March 11, 2022 at 4:06 am
Oh I can tell her dad gacernher attention
Those genes aren’t clean
Tjb
March 8, 2022 at 6:58 am
This is the same account that she tweets from during Office hours. Why is Christina Pushaw tweeting at work as we the citizens of Florida are paying her salary with our taxes.
Ron Ogden
March 8, 2022 at 7:53 am
She has a right to her opinion , and her opinion is correct.
Let’s see this straight, shall we. The Phoenix hasn’t laid a glove on DeSantis since he has been in office, it knows he will get right in its face and make it look stupid, and it is afraid of him, so it picks on an employee who 1/has her rights; 2/was not on company time, and 3/did not use an official account. Bupkiss, Phoenix. Look up the word.
Tjb
March 8, 2022 at 3:21 pm
It’s bupkis not bupkiss.
Although Christina Pushaw thought of herself as DeSantis’s Press Secretary that required regular hours , she knew bupkis that the position called for weekend work and unpredictable hours and her personal Twitter account is the same account that she uses while working.
Concern Citizen
March 8, 2022 at 9:08 am
Pushshaw is a talking head for DeSantis. She does tweets on state time — her daily tweets are often divisive, hateful, and contain misinformation ( check her Twitter page).
Christina Pushaw is DeSantis’s Joseph Goebbels
Matthew Lusk
March 8, 2022 at 11:32 am
I will say it loud and clear. Gay is not OK. It is a perverted abomination. Just do away with public school bureaucracies and make parents pay for their own kid’s education or as a compromise school vouchers for school choice. No problem. Homosexuals are disgusting. Nudity is illegal in public, why not two men holding hands or kissing. I would never let my child knowingly talk to a homosexual. And democrats, please don’t say you are a Christian while promoting homosexual lechery.
Getting ahead eh?
March 8, 2022 at 2:00 pm
Godundme: You people can’t even pay for your own anti vaccine relatives funerals lol
“Please don’t say you are a Christian”
I hate everyone that hates me and I give back. I about as Christian as every other Republican lol
Jane Campion
March 9, 2022 at 10:06 am
People who speak in this manner are almost always attracted to the same sex. Shamed by society and their parents, they turn that loathing inward, and in public spout the staunchest anti-gay rhetoric. I’m talking about you, Matthew Lusk. What bathroom stalls are you lingering around?
marfussie
March 8, 2022 at 11:36 am
And to think Desantis only beat a gay crack head by a little over 30,000 votes. Florida still has some house cleaning to do but things certainly are looking up.
David. G
March 8, 2022 at 2:28 pm
Yeah right lady “supposed” republicans Caring about kids and parental rights? You people won’t even get a free vaccine for them.. No wonder the young republicans have so few members. You just hate gays.
Don DeSantiss
March 8, 2022 at 6:54 pm
Christianity and Christians are Pedophiles. Even the old Nazi Pope protected pedophiles. Christianity endorses genocide, hate, and the destruction of democracy. Jesus wanted little children for sex slavery. It is in the Christian cult manual called the Bible. Christians see women as chattel and sex slaves. Christian men rape their daughters on their leaders direction. Christianity is they cause for all wrong in the world. And everyone is forced to subsidize their perversions. WHY?
Julie Gregory
March 8, 2022 at 11:44 pm
This Governor and his assistant suck this is so typical of a blue state that shows their ignorance and fear and I am tired of this man saying that we are sexual predators.Also the fact that there is no curriculum for LGBT in any schools in the country let alone your pathetic state run by this moron this is hateful discriminatory what he and his Republican legislators are doing.
CJ
March 9, 2022 at 5:23 pm
This is the problem, which also is evidence of the bigotry Pushaw holds. She equates being gay to sexual deviance. If a child questions the concept of being gay, then at this young age, it has nothing to do with sex, or the act of sex. Nor would a prudent teacher go into the details of such with a young child any more than if a child had a question of general marriage or dating, love, whatever!
That “grooming” content is telling.
CJ
March 9, 2022 at 5:27 pm
meant to read “comment”, not “content”
gm
March 13, 2022 at 8:56 pm
SInce Ms Pushaw came out and said that the Parental Rights bill was to address issues with pedophilia, which is a false claim towards the LGTBQ community, then it is to make sure underage individuals are not victims of sexual advances.
Then this law should be renamed “Don’t Say Gaetz”?
Comments are closed.