What's New
Florida State Senator Randy Fine has introduced a bill aimed at banning flags representing political viewpoints, race, sexual orientation, or gender from being displayed at public schools, colleges, universities and government buildings.
Newsweek reached out to Fine via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Senate Bill 100, introduced by Fine on Monday, mimics other recent legislation that has sought to ban ideological flags in public schools. LGBTQ+ advocates argue the moves reflect a broader wave of GOP-endorsed reform and policy efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights that include book bans, changes to school curricula, attacks on the use of preferred pronouns and restriction of reproductive rights.
"A governmental entity may not erect or display a flag that represents a political viewpoint, including, but not limited to, a politically partisan, racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint," the bill states. "The governmental entity must remain neutral when representing political viewpoints in displaying or erecting a flag."
The bill does not specify which exact flags would be banned, but Fine has highlighted flags related to Black Lives Matter and Palestine as examples and insinuated that LGBTQ+ Pride flags are included.
"For example, a flag like Palestine. That's not a place that exists," Fine told Jacksonville's News4JAX when asked to clarify what he considers a political flag. "These are political messages that not everyone agrees with."
He said in a statement: "Supporters of Muslim terror, child mutilators, and groomers have no right to taxpayer sponsorship of their repugnant messages. As I prepare to leave the Senate, I look forward to ensuring the only official place in a government building that you will find their flags is in a garbage can."
Fine has not specified whether the bill would ban the Confederate flag. "If it meets the definition as laid out in the bill, then you would not be able to fly it," Fine said.
The legislation would also enable retired or active members of the U.S. Armed Forces to "use reasonable force to prevent the desecration, destruction, or removal of the United States flag or to replace the United States flag to a position of prominence."
In March, the Tennessee House of Representatives advanced HB 1605 to the state Senate, which would have forbidden schools, teachers or faculty from displaying flags other than the American and Tennessee state flags in public schools. The bill was spiked in the GOP-controlled Senate in April after it failed to gain enough support.
The bill would have allowed "a parent of a child who attends, or who is eligible to attend" a Tennessee public or charter school to sue their school district if a Pride flag is displayed "anywhere students may see the object."
In October, the Durango School District in Colorado notified faculty that Black Lives Matter and Progress Pride flags could no longer be displayed at schools. Two weeks later, the school board voted to suspend the ban after nearly 100 students, parents, and faculty protested the move.
Similar moves have also been made in Delaware, Ohio, and New York, as well as in school districts from Davis County, Utah, to Wales, Wisconsin.
LGBTQ+ Pride flags are also banned from flying over U.S. embassies after President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan government funding package in March to avert a government shutdown. But while such flags may not be flown "over" U.S. embassies, the Biden camp has argued that it does not ban displaying them elsewhere on embassy grounds or inside offices.
What To Know
Efforts to remove "political flags" from government buildings are not new for Fine, who sponsored similar legislation last year as a member of the Florida House of Representatives.
Throughout his career, Fine has faced criticism for targeting marginalized groups, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, he backed several controversial House bills, including one that banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors and another restricting attendance at drag shows by designating them as "adult live performances."
In 2022, Fine also targeted Space Coast Pride, urging Melbourne's mayor to revoke the organization's event permit due to the presence of drag performers. The mayor ultimately denied Fine's request.
What People Are Saying
Randy Fine, in a press release: "The first flag that should be flown in a government building is the American flag. Flags that promote Muslim terror or the mutilation of children have no place in taxpayer-funded buildings – whether that government building is our state capital or a public school classroom."
But Amy Donofrio, a former Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) teacher who won a $300,000 lawsuit after being fired for misconduct allegations, including refusing to take down a Black Lives Matter flag in her classroom, questioned the substance of the bill.
"What is political?" she told News4JAX. "In my case, the district defined anything related to issues as political, even things like world hunger and breast cancer. Where does it end?"
What Happens Next
The full details of Senate Bill 100 will be discussed further during Florida's legislative session in March.
If the bill passes the state Senate and House and is signed, it will take effect on July 1. So far, Fine is the only sponsor.
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