‘Don’t say gay’: Florida governor signs bill dissolving Disney government
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation ending private government at Walt Disney World after the entertainment giant slammed a measure critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The law would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the 55-year-old Disney administration is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023.
The measure allows the districts to be restored and leaves a way to renegotiate their future.
The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose theme parks have made Orlando one of the world’s top tourist destinations, and serves to further sore the relationship between the Republican-led government and a key political player in the state.
The Walt Disney Company logo appears on a screen above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (Richard Drew/AP)
For Mr. DeSantis, the attack on Disney is his latest salvo in a culture war being waged over race, gender and coronavirus politics, battles that have made him one of the country’s most popular Republican politicians and a likely 2024 presidential nominee .
The dispute with the company began with Disney’s criticism of a new law that bans teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in preschool through third grade and “inappropriate age or developmental” classes.
In March, Disney said it would suspend political donations in the state, adding that it would in turn support organizations opposed to the new law.
Mr. DeSantis and his fellow Republicans then lashed out at Disney, defending the law as reasonable.
At the bill’s signing ceremony on Friday, Mr. DeSantis said Disney lied about the terms of the education law, but that he found the company’s vow to fight the law unacceptable.
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“You are a Burbank, California based corporation and you will use your economic might to attack my state’s parents. We see this as a provocation and we will fight back,” DeSantis said.
https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/dont-say-gay-row-florida-governor-signs-disney-government-dissolution-bill-41578838.html ‘Don’t say gay’: Florida governor signs bill dissolving Disney government
