Former U.N. Ambassador and presidential hopeful Nikki Haley criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the Parental Rights in Education Law, arguing that the law did not go “far enough” to protect young children.
“There was all this talk about the Florida bill — the ‘don’t Say gay bill.’ Basically what it said was you shouldn’t be able to talk about gender before third grade. I’m sorry. I don’t think that goes far enough,” Haley told a New Hampshire crowd on Thursday.
“When I was in school you didn’t have sex ed until seventh grade. And even then, your parents had to sign whether you could take the class. That’s a decision for parents to make,” she continued.
Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics, bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity through third grade.
Haley launched her 2024 presidential campaign earlier this week, marking the first Republican to try and prevent former President Donald Trump from securing the party’s nomination in 2024.
Haley’s shot at DeSantis is notable, as many expect him to enter the presidential race. DeSantis has consistently polled second to Trump in hypothetical GOP primary fields.
Haley doubled down on her criticism of DeSantis during an interview with Fox News after her campaign event.
“I think Ron’s been a good governor. I just think that third grade’s too young. We should not be talking to kids in elementary school about gender, period,” Haley said.
“And if you are going to talk to kids about it, you need to get the parents’ permission to do that. That is something between a parent and a child. That is not something that schools need to be teaching,” Haley continued. “Schools need to be teaching reading and math and science. They don’t need to be teaching whether they think you’re a boy or a girl.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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