DeSantis leading ‘assault on free expression in Florida’: Watchdog

A watchdog said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is leading an “assault on free expression in Florida.”

“On the extreme side of the ledger, Florida is setting an agenda of unprecedented censorship, rigging the system to favor the speech of those in power and silencing dissenting voices,” said PEN America, a watchdog focused on free expression.

“The assault on free expression in Florida is almost without peer in recent U.S. history.” 

The group pointed to Florida’s Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which restricted teaching about race and gender in schools and businesses, and the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which restricted instruction about sexual orientation in the classroom.

Earlier this year, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in St. Petersburg, Fla., warned that Florida “may not be a safe place to visit or take up residence” in a travel advisory. That came in the wake of laws passed in the Sunshine State targeting the LGBTQ community, access to reproductive health care and the loosening of gun restrictions.

“Taken in their totality, Florida’s slate of laws and policies targeting basic freedoms and rights pose a serious risk to the health and safety of those traveling to the state,” Equality Florida’s advisory states.

PEN America has been a leading voice in the push against book bans in public schools and libraries, which often target books that delve into questions of race, gender and sex.

“In examining the state’s recent policy efforts, it can seem that the solution to every problem identified by Florida policy-makers and its governor, Ron DeSantis, is to suppress speech. But not always,” the group wrote.

“Importantly, Florida’s speech-related efforts seem designed to protect and enhance the speech of those who hold political power in the state, while simultaneously inhibiting the speech of those who would criticize them or their conduct in office.”

The Hill has reached out to DeSantis’s campaign and office for comment.