HB 7 Bill Analysis
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HB 7 Individual Freedom
Name
Institution
State and Local Government POS 2112
Instructor
Date
2
HB 7, Individual Freedom Act
Historical Background for HB 7 Law in Florida
The "Individual Freedom" bill was approved by lawmakers in the state House and is now
on its way to the Senate. Florida senators have advanced a bill prohibiting classroom or
workplace instruction that would cause discomfort or shame in the participants (
Miller et al.,
2022)
. According to HB 7, commonly referred to as the "Individual Freedom" bill, imposing
people to participate in some instructions or training that causes them to "feel guilty" for the
reason that they belong to a certain group, including racial group, ethnicity, skin color, sexual
orientation, or native origin is biased (
Miller et al., 2022)
. Some instructions that promote, foster,
develop, instill, or oblige a person to think that a certain racial group or sexual orientation is
morally exceptional or that a person is innately racist or sexist are prohibited.
Supporters of the measure, including Governor Ron DeSantis, claim that it aims to curb
"woke" indoctrination and broaden protections against discrimination due to the controversy
surrounding critical race theory. In December, DeSantis presented the Stop WOKE Act
legislation to confront critical racial theory (
Miller et al., 2022)
. According to critics, it will
hinder vital but painful discussions about history and race. Critical race theory is not mentioned
expressly anywhere in the text. The Florida Education Association teacher's union has criticized
the HB 7 laws that will restrict th content that schools can offer and teach regarding US history
and matters involving students who are a part of or associated with the LGBTQ+ community.
Regardless of ethnicity, background, ZIP code, or ability, educators care deeply about
their children and want to ensure that every student has the opportunity to develop and flourish.
Some Florida students will not feel comfortable and secure or even seen for who they are due to
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these actions (
Hamilton, 2022)
. Both proposals encourage prejudice and restriction and convey
to pupils the distinctly non-American notion that individualism is not respected and that
everybody must share a single point of view. According to
Hamilton (2022)
, "critical race
theory" is a collection of ideas used to analyze how race interacts with a nation's legal system,
particularly the US legal system. Currently, no grade level in Florida schools is taught the theory.
In order to stop what it deemed to be a misrepresentation of historical experiences incompatible
with State Board of Education policies, the analysis of the bill states that it would stop the topic
from being taught.
Events That Led to the Idea for HB 7 Legislation
The illegal discrimination of sexism, racism, and sex orientation gave rise to the passage
of HB 7. HB 7 protects civil rights in employment and K–20 education by making it illegal to
subject an employee or student to a required activity that promotes, encourages, or coerces
someone to hold discriminatory beliefs (
Hamilton, 2022)
. The idea that persons of one race,
color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to those of another race, color, national origin,
or sex illustrates an illegally discriminatory idea. The racial aspects, skin color, native origin, or
sexual orientation of a person determine their moral character or whether they are privileged or
oppressed. As a result, they are intrinsically racist, sexist, or oppressive because of their race or
sex (
Hamilton, 2022)
. In order to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion, no one should be treated
unfairly or discriminatorily because of their race, color, national origin, or sexual orientation.
These events have led to the legislation of this bill in the state by the state governor to lessen
these events among th workers, children, and employees who have been identified as the
vulnerable groups in the state.
Presence of HB 7 in other States
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Other states do not have such a law as the HB 7 legislation. House Bill 7 provides
employers, workers, kids, and families with tools to combat prejudice and woke indoctrination.
The bill has provisions that make it illegal to indoctrinate employees and students with bias in
public settings (
Russell-Brown, 2022)
. The fundamental reality that all persons are created equal
and have unalienable rights is how particular liberties are defined in this document. This law is
the first in the country to simultaneously deal with corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory
in the classroom. Nobody should be taught to believe they are less than others or to be ashamed
of their race. The state of Florida will not permit the far-left woke agenda to rule our workplaces
and educational institutions (
Russell-Brown, 2022)
. Indoctrination and bigotry have no place in
Florida. The Florida State Government is putting education over indoctrination by signing this
law, which is the first in the country to ban corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory from
being taught in our schools.
The Florida State Government will continue to fight to defend our kids and parents
against this Marxist-inspired education. The public appreciates Governor DeSantis and the
Florida Legislature for speaking out against prejudice, particularly in the face of revisionist
history and divisive ideologies that defy Florida's academic standards (
Russell-Brown, 2022)
.
These harmful ideas aim to divide rather than unite Americans. This law asserts that all pupils,
regardless of their backgrounds, should be recognized as distinct individuals with their own
experiences and should be given the same opportunities to succeed and be happy. Because of
this, the Florida Department of Education ensures that students are taught how to think in class
rather than what to think.
Groups Support and Opposing HB 7 legislation.
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Some groups and individuals support the legislation of HB 7, while others oppose and
criticize the bill. The judiciary in Florida has criticized and opposed the bill's legislation to the
point of ruling against the bill (
Crenshaw, 2021)
. A Florida judge in the United States declared
HB 7 as "unconstitutional," a state law on education and individual freedom that prohibits in
schools and companies an alleged "indoctrination" based on a current that maintains that racism
is systemic in American society (
Crenshaw, 2021)
. In his decision, Judge Mark Walker, who
presides over the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, criticized the law, saying
it is "next to incomprehensible" and violates the First Amendment.
Under the US Constitution, the above amendment protects freedom of speech, press,
assembly, and the right to seek compensation from the government for wrongs committed. The
lawsuit analyzed by Judge Walker was filed by private entities such as the website
Honeyfund.com, based in Clearwater (west Florida), which offers services to newlyweds,
claiming that their rights to freedom of expression are "restricted" because the law reaches the
company's training programs on diversity (
Crenshaw, 2021)
. According to local media, appearing
as plaintiffs in the suit is a Ben & Jerry's ice cream franchise based in Tampa and job diversity
consultancy Collective Concepts. The state of Florida introduced that policy on July 1, along
with nearly 150 new laws, including legislation banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy
and legislation barring teachers from speaking to younger students about sexual orientation and
sexual orientation issues genre.
On the other hand, HB 7 bill is supported by the governor, commissioners of education in
the state of Florida, house speakers, and senators. The new HB7 law was created by the governor
of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, and enacted last July (
Crenshaw, 2021)
. It is known as Ato
Stop WOKE (Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees), like "no more cheating for our children and
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employees." When presenting the initiative in 2021, DeSantis said that his proposal wants to
protect students and employees of large corporations, who are "forced" to follow a doctrine
based on the critical theory of race, which considers that the US slave past is the origin of racism.
Systemic.
Media position concerning HB7 law
The passage of an HB7 law, “Don't Say Gay,” in Florida increased discrimination against
the LGBTQIA+ community in English-language publications on social networks. That is what a
new report by the NGO Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and the Human Rights
Campaign group found: a 400% increase in false anti-gay narratives related to pedophilia
circulating in Facebook and Twitter posts (
Ligon IV, 2019)
. In practice, the legislation prohibits
gender and sexual orientation classes in schools up to the third grade of elementary school. The
text sparked debate and student protests in the US state but went into effect with the support of
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis last month. In total, 989,547 tweets posted between January
1 and July 27, 2022, were identified that link the LGBTQ+ community to offenses of this type –
all based on the lie that gays groom or abuse children (
Ligon IV, 2019)
. The legislation has
fostered a sharp rise in online homophobia and transphobia that social media platforms fail to
crack down on and profit from the spread of sponsored, hateful content, as the NGOs point out.
According to
Ligon IV (2019)
, just days after the HB 7 law was passed, just ten accounts
generated 66% of impressions for the top 500 tweets containing the term "grooming." The
astounding visibility these posts have garnered directly results from Twitter's failure to enforce
its policies prohibiting anti-LGBTQ+ slurs. Posts from these ten people alone reached over 48
million views, and the top 500 most influential tweets with the term "grooming" were viewed 72
million times and received 399,260 likes and retweets (
Ligon IV, 2019)
. Twitter failed to act
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against 99% of the 100 discriminatory tweets that were anonymously reported by CCDH
researchers, despite the slur “grooming” to refer to gay people being included in its policy
against hate speech. Across Facebook and Instagram, 59 paid ads promoted the same narrative
and were served to users over 2.1 million times (
Ligon IV, 2019)
. Despite similar policies
banning anti-LGBTQ+ hateful content on both social media platforms, only one ad was
removed. Online violence and lies feed and mimic offline hatred and violence. Twitter and Meta
(Facebook) need to take action to cease hosting and making money from anti-LGBTQ+ hate
speech.
Problems Addressed by HB7 bill.
The bill addresses several issues, including sexism, slavery, racial oppression and
segregation, and discrimination among workers, kids, and employees. The bill also requires that
the declared ideals of individual freedom be upheld in all instruction, instructional materials, and
professional development in public schools (
Crenshaw, 2021)
. The notions that no one is
inherently racist, sexist, or dictatorial just because of their race or gender and that the ideas of
meritocracy and hard effort are not only non-racial but also necessary to one's potential to attain
success are examples of these values. The legislation permits age-appropriate discussion of
issues like sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination
without indoctrinating or swaying students toward viewpoints incompatible with individual
freedom principles (
Ligon IV, 2019)
. To assist students in comprehending the repercussions of
prejudice and racism, the measure also enhances the amount of African American history taught
in schools. Through classroom instruction, students will learn what it means to be a kind,
considerate, and responsible citizen and how to tolerate difference, helping to preserve the
democratic ideals upon which our country was founded (
Ligon IV, 2019)
. Schools must teach
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pupils the truth rather than indoctrinating them with opinions that foster a sense of community
shame about topics like the Holocaust and African American history.
My opinion and the Experts’ position
In my opinion, legislation is the most effective solution to racism, sexism, and
discrimination among workers, children, and employees. This is because the United States and
Florida are lands of law subject to the offenders' punishment. Therefore, I support the
implementation of the HB 7 law in Florida. I propose that the governor use the constitution and
the legislature to punish judiciary members who rule against the law. Additionally, this law will
ensure that all people residing in the state unite and live in peace, creating development,
integration, and cohesion. Additionally, experts support the bill as a way to promote peace and
unity in Florida.
Box (2022)
points out that social media platforms enable the spread of online
prejudice against gay communities. Therefore, a bill has to be passed to deal with media hate
speeches of this type (
Russell-Brown, 2022)
. This issue significantly increased with the
beginning of the bill's discussion. The approval of the legislation in July was the catalyst for an
"unprecedented and dangerous" anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation campaign, which radical
politicians and their allies led. According to
Box (2022)
, the average number of tweets per day
using slurs like "groomer," "predator," and "pedophile" to refer to LGBTQ+ people has grown by
406% one month after the law was passed in Florida.
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References
Box, R. C. (2022). Context Matters: Authoritarian Populism and Public Administration Practice,
Teaching, and Research.
The American Review of Public Administration
,
52
(7), 475–485.
https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221119254
Crenshaw, K. W. (2021). This is not a drill: The war against antiracist teaching in
America.
UCLA L. Rev.
,
68
, 1702.
Hamilton, J. (2022).
Creating a Culturally Relevant Inquiry-Based Science Lesson Plan for a
Suburban School
(Doctoral dissertation, University of Florida).
Ligon IV, G. (2019).
Hope for Whom? A Critical Race Theory Policy Analysis of Florida’s
House Bill 7069 Schools of Hope Policy
(Doctoral dissertation, The Florida State
University).
Miller, V., Fernandez, F., & Hutchins, N. H. (2022). The Race to Ban Race: Legal and Critical
Arguments Against State Legislation to Ban Critical Race Theory in Higher
Education.
Missouri Law Review, Forthcoming, University of Florida Levin College of
Law
Research
Paper
Forthcoming
.
http://https//www.law.ufl.edu/areas-of-
study/centers/race-and-crime-center-for-justice
Russell-Brown, K. (2022). 'The Stop WOKE Act': HB 7, Race, and Florida's 21st Century Anti-
Literacy Campaign.
University of Florida Levin College of Law Research Paper,
Forthcoming
.
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