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The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, signed law SB 1134 this Wednesday in Jacksonville, which prohibits counties and municipalities in the state from funding, promoting, or implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, asserting that these programs discriminate against white men.
DeSantis defined DEI programs as "an ideological construct designed to promote a particular political agenda, to the detriment of disadvantaged groups".
"The disadvantaged groups, number one, obviously, would be white men, and I think they have been discriminated against. And it's like a lot of people say: 'Oh, that's fine. That's fine.' No, it's not fine. It's wrong," stated the Republican governor during the press conference.
The SB 1134 law was passed in the state Senate by a vote of 25 in favor and 11 against, and in the House by 77 to 37, with five Republicans joining the Democrats in opposition.
Among its most notable provisions, the regulation prohibits local governments from establishing DEI offices or hiring inclusion officers, nullifies all existing ordinances and resolutions related to DEI, and requires recipients of contracts or grants to certify that they do not use public funds to promote these programs.
Local officials who violate the law may be removed from their positions for misappropriation or misconduct, and citizens will have the right to sue local governments for noncompliance.
"When people know there is accountability, they are much more likely to follow the guidance," DeSantis said, referring to the proposed sanctions.
The reaction was immediate. Evelyn Foxx, president of the NAACP branch in Gainesville, rejected the governor's comments: "If you spoke to 100 white men, they wouldn't feel the same as DeSantis. The governor is out of touch with the people, and that is the fundamental point."
The Democratic representative Marie Paule Woodson warned during the legislative debate that "by banning DEI initiatives, we are closing the door to understanding and compassion, and those are crucial elements for a thriving society."
DeSantis also highlighted that Asian Americans have faced discrimination in college admissions and that individuals should be judged by their merits, not by their demographic background. "But that is not the same as trying to socially engineer certain outcomes to the detriment of groups that some in the intellectual elite disadvantage," he added.
SB 1134 is the final link in a legislative chain that DeSantis has built since 2022.
That year, he signed the so-called Stop WOKE Act, which restricts the teaching of critical race theory concepts in schools and workplaces.
In 2023, state funding for DEI programs in public universities was eliminated through law SB 266, and that same year the controversial law known as "Don't Say Gay" was expanded to all grade levels.
The new law takes effect on January 1, 2027, giving local governments time to dismantle their programs. Duval County, where Jacksonville is located, could lose up to $16.8 million in state grants if it does not comply with the regulation.
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