美国国家公共电台 NPR Florida Senate to vote on measure that critics dubbed 'Don't Say Gay' bill

Florida Senate to vote on measure that critics dubbed¹ 'Don't Say Gay' bill

Transcript²

Florida's Senate is preparing to pass a bill that bans any discussion of sexual orientation³ in schools from kindergarten through third grade. Republican supporters say it's about parental⁴ rights.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, Florida lawmakers are expected to approve a bill that bans any school instruction dealing⁵ with sexual orientation or gender⁶ identity. Governor Ron DeSantis casts this as support of parental rights to have those discussions at home, if at all. Critics say the measure targets LGBTQ families and label it the Don't Say Gay bill. News coverage⁷ of this bill has extended to "Saturday Night Live."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

COLIN JOST: Yeah, yeah. Like, teachers can't speak about gay people in history or if a kid has a gay family member.

KATE MCKINNON: Wait, what?

INSKEEP: NPR's Greg Allen has been following this debate in Florida. Hey there, Greg.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE⁸: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: This is so hotly debated. I guess we should get back to the text of the legislation. What would the bill actually do?

ALLEN: Well, there are some non-controversial provisions in the bill, things about giving parents access to their children's education and health records. But really, the controversial part of it says that teachers may not do any instruction or sexual - on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade. Supporters of the bill, including Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, are clear what they're concerned about.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RON DESANTIS: Clearly right now, we see a lot of focus on the transgenderism, telling kids that they may be able to pick genders⁹ and all that. I don't think parents want that for these young kids.

ALLEN: This bill allows parents who feel that there's been a violation¹⁰ of the law and that teachers have been instructing kids about sexual orientation, they can then sue the school district and get damages if their concerns aren't addressed.

INSKEEP: And can we talk about what the bill is called? The critics say it's the Don't Say Gay bill. I get the impression that supporters are offended by that phrase. But you're not supposed to talk about these things, right? Is it an inaccurate¹¹ description, Don't Say Gay?

ALLEN: Well, you know, it's a very catchy¹² phrase that's helped raise the profile of the bill, which clearly does - the bill clearly does target the LGBTQ community. Yesterday, members of the community had their own rallying cry for lawmakers.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting) We say gay. We say gay. We say gay.

ALLEN: That was dozens of young LGBTQ activists¹³ who came from throughout the state who were at the Capitol in Tallahassee yesterday. And the measure, while it bans any classroom instruction involving sexual orientation, supporters of it will say that's not the same as don't say gay. You know, if the word gay comes up in the classroom, that would be OK. You can't instruct students about it. Here's a sponsor in the state Senate, Republican Dennis Baxley.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DENNIS BAXLEY: Here you've got a bill that doesn't use the term gay, that the media has taken and advertises as the Don't Say Gay bill. And there's nothing about that in the bill except extrapolating a mission that they're on.

INSKEEP: OK, so the measure does not explicitly¹⁴ ban the word gay, but it bans instruction in these areas and raises the possibility of lawsuits¹⁵ against teachers. If proponents¹⁶ of the bill say they don't want to ban the word gay, what exactly do they want to accomplish?

ALLEN: Well, over the weekend, Governor DeSantis's spokesperson sent out a tweet describing it as a, quote, "anti-grooming¹⁷" bill. And that's further inflamed¹⁸ the debate. Here's Democratic Senator Tina Polsky.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TINA POLSKY: She called it a grooming bill, meaning that gay people or teachers talking about gayness are pedophiles and are grooming children for molestation¹⁹. It's horrendous²⁰ the way this bill has been interpreted, and that's because it's not defined.

ALLEN: A lot of the criticism from Democrats²¹ was about the vagueness of the bill. Under questioning, Republicans conceded that it applied²² not just to K through third grade, but that it bans discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in any grade that's not, quote, "age-appropriate." And that, Democrats say, could open the way to lots of lawsuits.

INSKEEP: Oh, since it's not defining what age-appropriate - what age that is.

ALLEN: Right.

INSKEEP: What happens next?

ALLEN: Well, the Republican majority has the votes to pass it, and it then goes to the governor, who says he'll sign it.

INSKEEP: Greg, thanks so much.

ALLEN: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: NPR's Greg Allen in Miami.

1 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

4 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 genders   

n.性某些语言的（阳性、阴性和中性，不同的性有不同的词尾等）( gender的名词复数 )；性别；某些语言的（名词、代词和形容词）性的区分

参考例句：

• There are three genders in German: masculine, feminine and neuter. 德语中有叁性：阳性、阴性和中性。 来自辞典例句
• Japan was fourth among the genders of foreign students. 日本在二十个留美学生输送地中列第四位。 来自互联网

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

12 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

17 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。

18 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 molestation   

n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨

参考例句：

• Michael Jackson is arrested by police on charges of child molestation. 2003年的今天，迈克尔·杰克逊因被警方指控有儿童性骚扰行为而被捕。 来自互联网
• Jackson pleads not guilty on the molestation charges. 2004年：杰克逊认罪不认罪的性骚扰指控。 来自互联网

20 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

21 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。