In a recent tweet, Christina Pushawthe press secretary of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisstated that those who oppose the state's anti-LGBTQ "Don't Say Gay" bill are groomers, according to LGBTQ Nation.
"The bill that liberals inaccurately call 'Don't Say Gay' would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill," Pushaw wrote. "If you're against the Anti-Grooming Bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don't denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children. Silence is complicity. This is how it works, Democrats, and I didn't make the rules."
Democratic Florida Rep. Carlos Carlos Guillermo Smith is among those demanding that Pushaaw resign. He posted, "#DeSantis' spokesperson openly accused opponents of #DontSayGay of being 'groomers' aka PEDOPHILES. Bigoted attacks like this against LGBTQ people are the worst of the worst. They're disgusting and dangerous and have NO PLACE in the Guv's office."
Additionally, SPLC Action Fund Interim Deputy Legal Director Scott McCoy said in a press release Windy City Times received, "It is despicable and shameful that Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary, Christina Pushaw, would so grossly malign and defame an entire community to shove unpopular legislation forward. Although this false smear about Florida's LGBTQ+ community is more of the same tired rhetoric, Pushaw's choice of words was no accident. When you do not have any legitimate support for your policy position, you must rely on vicious and false ad hominem attacks.
"According to the Alliance for Children, grooming is defined as the 'calculated and gradual process by which an offender sexually abuses a child. It is a horrifyingly planned and manipulative act that makes victims of sexual abuse feel complacent and adds an additional layer of protection for the offender.'
"Tweeting from her personal account does not make slandering LGBTQ+ Floridians okay since she is still the official spokesperson for the DeSantis administration. Unsurprisingly, Pushaw's tweet is just another dog whistle in ongoing efforts to demonize and erase the existence of the LGBTQ+ community."
The billwhich DeSantis said he would backwould prohibit "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity" in the state's primary schools.