Reporter ignored by DeSantis officials on falsely dubbed ‘don’t say gay law’
MIAMI (FLV) – WPLG 10 reporter Trent Kelly was ignored by some officials of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration after he approached them following a press conference using a false term for the Parental Rights in Education Act.
The video depicted Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez and Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr., leaving a room and being followed by Kelly.
Kelly was then interrupted and stopped from walking further to follow Nunez.
“Lieutenant Governor, do you support the bill to expand the Don’t Say Gay Law? What do you say to critics who say that will continue to hurt LGBTQ children?” Kelly asked Nunez.
“I cannot have you come further back,” he was told. “Our press conference is done, so if you can exit please.”
“Mr. Diaz […] Do you support the bill to expand the Don’t Say Gay law?” he asked Diaz, before being stopped from following the education commissioner.
The reporter said Nunez “conducted interviews with two handpicked media outlets” and had local police “remaining journalists from public school property.”
DeSantis’ deputy press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, responded, saying, “There is no bill filed under that name in Florida, tho.”
One user responded to Kelly, saying the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law is “a fiction portrayed by reporters who refuse to read a four-page bill.”
Sommer Brugal, an education reporter for the Miami Herald, refuted Kelly’s presentation of details that might lead viewers to believe that Nunez and Diaz are selectively not answering questions for political reasons.
“[Miami Dade Public Schools] school board members @MonicaColucciFL & @MariTereMDCPS also did not make time for questions,” she said. “[Diaz] did respond to a handful of my Qs in the parking lot about 30 mins later.”
The bill in question – HB 1557 – is the “Parental Rights in Education” law, and prevents the classroom instruction for grades K-3 on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In 2023, lawmakers are considering expanding those restrictions to PreK-8.
