White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday repeated the false claim that gay teachers in Florida have been forced to take photos of their spouses off their desks or risk losing their teaching license.
Jean-Pierre’s remark came during the daily White House press briefing, as she commented on Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which was expanded on Wednesday to encompass all public school grade levels in the Sunshine State.
The law, championed by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, restricts classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity. It had previously only applied to teachers with students in pre-kindergarten through third grade and is formally called the “Parental Rights in Education” law.
Jean-Pierre on Thursday called the law “dystopian” before she made the false claim about teachers’ photos.
“As this measure takes effect, it will prohibit all students, up to seniors in high school, from learning about our — learning about or discussing LGBTQI+ people in the classrooms,” she said.
“Teachers in Florida have already faced the devastating consequences of the existing law. Under threat of having their licenses revoked, gay teachers have been forced to take down pictures of their spouses from their desks and censor their classroom materials,” Jean-Pierre added.
The claim has been shared widely on social media since last summer in the form of a meme, which also claims rainbow clothing was also being banned.
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