It’s been a tough couple of months for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Since he announced that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, things have not looked good for the Florida governor. His campaign launch was a disaster on Twitter spaces, his fellow Republicans have been deriding him for his war with the Walt Disney Company, and former President Donald Trump has been attacking him from all sides.
Related: Hope You Like Legal Fees, You’re Paying for DeSantis’ Lawyers in Disney Feud
But Gov DeSantis has carried on, traveling around the early voting states like South Carolina and Iowa, touting his record in Florida. His most common refrain has been that Florida is where “woke goes to die.” But there’s a slight problem if you take a closer look at DeSantis’ record: most of the bills he passed to stop “woke” are on hold because they are unconstitutional.
DeSantis’ signature law, the “Stop WOKE Act,” has been deemed to violate the First Amendment and put on hold by a Federal judge. The law prohibits discussion on race relations or diversity that implies a person’s status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by race, color, national origin, or sex. The DeSantis government and the Florida legislature were sued by a company that believed it had a First Amendment right to show its employees a diversity training video. The judge sided with the company.
Related: Having Learned Nothing from Disney Feud, DeSantis Picks Another Unnecessary Fight
Sara Margulis, whose company Honeyfund sued DeSantis, told CNN:
Companies aren’t ‘going woke’ out of allegiance to Democrats. Time after time, diversity has proven to be good for the bottom line, Valuing diversity means understanding it, understanding means training and training means having to deal with this law. We were really handed a chance to make a difference for other business owners by challenging it, and we took it.
This brings us back to Florida Gov Ron DeSantis’ fight with Disney over its response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeSantis and the Florida Legislature retaliated against Disney by stripping Disney World of its self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District. The case will head before a judge next week, but based on this previous case, it appears Disney had a clear win in its First Amendment case.
Related: After a Series of Losses, DeSantis Attacks Disney in Vicious New Ad
Governor DeSantis’ laws banning gender-affirming care for minors, prohibiting minors from “drag shows,” and the state’s six-week ban on abortion are all being held up in Federal Court. No matter what Florida law DeSantis wants to pass, a judge stops it.
Disney is suing for its ability to use free speech and the Governor’s retaliation against the company. If the past is precedent, the Florida Republican is in for another long month.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
