ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Inside the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus's student union, dozens of flags representing the many different nationalities of its students hang proudly from the ceiling.
But on one window, three different flags also hang.
Oliver Laczo, a student, sees all of the flags as symbols. Symbols that his school sees and hears him and his classmates.
"When, you know, a student looks up and sees a flag that they resonate with, when they see a symbol that speaks to them, that means something, it says something to them personally. It's very powerful," he said.
Despite the pride he feels when he walks past those flags, a bill moving through the Florida Legislature could bring those three flags down.
House Bill 901 passed out of the Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee Wednesday morning. With nine yeas and five nays, it cleared the first of many hurdles.
The bill brought out plenty of public comment, most in opposition to the bill, but not all.
"This bill closes an important loophole in the Parental Rights in Education Act. It stops would-be activist teachers from getting around the spirit of that law by pushing indoctrination through other means," said John Labriola with the Christian Family Coalition. "We know it's needed because, in 2022, a Palm Beach County parent sued the school district after his son's science teacher flew two rainbow flags in the classroom. And the judge in that case, a state judge, dismissed that case. So that's why this law is needed."
The bill prohibits government buildings, including public schools like USF, from erecting or even displaying certain flags.
"This bill doesn't affect the first amendment rights of individuals, it deals with government staying out of politics," said Representative Randy Fine.
The bill explains that government buildings should avoid flags that could represent a political viewpoint. Here are the examples it lists of political viewpoints: race, sexual orientation, gender, and political ideology.
"Flags aren't neutral. No flag is neutral. Flags have meanings. And so we as a society are saying, look, the flag that should unite us is the flag of Florida, the flag of the United States. Those will be the flags that will be flown in our government meetings," Rep. Fine added.
There are some vague parts of the bills. For instance, it doesn't explain just how strict they intend to be with word display. It's not clear if a small pride flag on a desk or a sign would be considered under the phrase "display."
The bill does not strip "A governmental entity to display or erect a flag required or authorized by general law." However, it doesn't explicitly lay out what those flags are.
It also requires governmental buildings to "display the United States flag in a prominent position that is superior to any other flag that is also displayed."
Supporters of the bill say the basis is to restore unity to the state while getting rid of symbols that divide the state.
"We seem to be getting off the focus of the bill. The focus of the bill is not to limit personal expression or personal belief of any kind. This is to bring us back to the understanding that, as a public forum, we cannot espouse one political or ideological position. And we're in danger of becoming an ideological Kramer versus Kramer," said Representative David Borrero, the bill's sponsor.
Senator Borrero represents South Florida. That's also where Laczo is from.
"Instead of attacking flags and suppressing freedom of expression in Florida, he could be trying to fix the cost of affordable housing in South Florida for his constituents. He could be working towards Everglades restoration. But instead, he's trying to take away meaning and expression from countless Floridians. And I think that is absolutely disgusting and shameful," Laczo said.
But Laczo does see this as a big issue, just not one lawmakers should change.
"It's one thing to have a pride flag in your room. But it's another thing for an institution to display it and say, we stand with you. We acknowledge you. We care for you. "
The bill has been referred to its next community but has not made it to an agenda yet.
Just one day before the hearing for the flag bill, Equality Florida members and supporters stood inside the Capitol, calling out that bill and 21 others.
"Instead of focusing on the real problems facing Floridians like property and car insurance, lawmakers in this building are continuing their obsession with culture war attacks," one supporter said.
Those against those bills have dubbed it the "Slate of Hate," saying they're direct attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.
"We're not the boogeyman. The LGBT community is not here to hurt you. Not here to hurt your kids," said Luis Salazar, the President of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party LGBTQ Caucus.
One of the other bills included on the opposition list is House Bill 1233.
That bill would define biological sex for the state.
"Sex" means the classification of a human person as either male or female based on the organization of the body of such person for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person's sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth. All references to the term "gender" in these statutes must be deemed to refer solely to sex as defined in this section, unless a different meaning is plainly required by context to qualify, limit, or define a specific word or phrase."
It would also change every government-issued ID and certificate to go by that definition of sex, not gender. That means many transgender Floridians would have to get IDs with their birth sex on them.
It also tackles health insurance, requiring insurance providers that offer gender transitional care to offer coverage if someone wishes to detransition.
"It's pretty daunting. Sometimes, when you see what's going on and how our community is being attacked for just being who we are and living our authentic lives. We've, we feel like, sometimes there isn't a lot you can do," said Salazar.
The fight for LGBTQ rights isn't just at the Capitol, and it's not just one day.
Salazar says it's a year-round effort with their three main initiatives:
- Connecting with the newest voters- generation Z.
- Canvassing in communities to talk to potential voters about the issues on the legislative floor this year.
- Hosting their monthly Equality Social to connect with others in the community.
"It's really important for all these communities to stand together and stand united against these things. And the way we do that is by voting, we have to show up to the polls, we didn't last time and we need to," Salazar added.
