‘Don’t Say Gay’ Gov. Ron DeSantis Wins Reelection in Florida

The hardline conservative Gov. Ron DeSantis is projected to win reelection, ending Democrat Charlie Crist's chance to retake his previous office.

DeSantis has targeted LGBTQ+ rights repeatedly while in office. Last March, he signed the notorious "don't say gay" bill into law. The law limits what LGBTQ+ topics can be taught in Florida classrooms.

In a debate last month, DeSantis called gender-affirming care "chemical castration."

"When they say 'gender-affirming care,' they mean giving puberty blockers to teenage girls and teenage boys," he said in the debate. Florida regulators are considering banning gender-affirming care for youth.

He said doctors are "chemically castrating young boys." He added, "A lot of kids go through a lot of different things. A lot of the dysphoria resolves itself by the time they become adults."

However, studies have indicated that people who initiate gender-affirming care as teens continue with it into adulthood. Also, the effects of puberty blockers are reversible once young people go off them.

DeSantis went on to decry top surgery for trans boys, saying, "It's inappropriate to be doing that."

Breast augmentation or reduction is more common among teens than mastectomies.

Only last week, DeSantis's campaign sent out a mailer mocking nonbinary people. The flier included a photo of a nonbinary student wearing makeup and a graduation gown, with a cartoon bubble overhead that reads, "Thank you, Joe Biden and Charlie Crist, for making Floridians pay off my student debt."

The Advocate reviewed available Getty images and discovered that the photo is a series of graduation photos taken not in Florida but in Brazil.

"The queerphobia coming out of today's Republican Party is so sad and disgusting," tweeted Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani with the images of the flier.

Many have speculated that DeSantis plans to run for president in 2024 as an alternative to former President Donald Trump who many also view as preparing for another presidential campaign. Just last weekend both DeSantis and Trump held rallies in opposite parts of the state.