News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

[Californian Elitist]

Regardless of whether they identify as conservative or liberal, those who think that children should be shielded from hearing any sort of reference* to LGBTQI people or relationships are expressing discriminatory beliefs. Homophobia and transphobia are the terms applied to such discrimination.

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* By “reference”, I mean the kinds of things that a straight teacher would talk about with their students (e.g., their spouse, their own children, etc.). I do not mean anything that can be considered “indoctrination” (spoiler: you can’t turn kids gay or trans).

ETA: I do not believe that those who are homophobic or transphobic are automatically bad people who can’t unlearn their bigotry. My parents were homophobes before learning that their son is gay. Even I had long-internalised homophobia that I had to work many years to get rid of.

We are exposed to sexuality at very young ages. I remember being a tiny child and watching a man and woman kiss and express affection towards each other in other ways. It’s only a problem and an “agenda” when it involves homosexual/bisexual/trans people. Now we suddenly need to think about the children and make sure we don’t talk about sexuality around them. Okay.

 

[GladToBeHear]

We are exposed to sexuality at very young ages. I remember being a tiny child and watching a man and woman kiss and express affection towards each other in other ways. It’s only a problem and an “agenda” when it involves homosexual/bisexual/trans people. Now we suddenly need to think about the children and make sure we don’t talk about sexuality around them. Okay.

This is about WHO should be talking to young children about those things. Not IF.

 

[GladToBeHear]

Yes, I did, because we used different honorifics based on the female teachers’ marital status. As members of the local community we also sometimes saw them outside of school.

And as a 5-8 year old -- running into a teacher outside of the classroom -- who would you typically be with? If you had questions about your teacher's partner?

 

[LittleBuford]

We are exposed to sexuality at very young ages. I remember being a tiny child and watching a man and woman kiss and express affection towards each other in other ways. It’s only a problem and an “agenda” when it involves homosexual/bisexual/trans people. Now we suddenly need to think about the children and make sure we don’t talk about sexuality around them. Okay.

Exactly! French kissing is portrayed in Disney cartoons, for goodness’ sake. Where were the bills to prevent children from seeing Ariel and Eric snogging?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Why does a teacher need to talk to their students about anything having to do with their personal life? Did you know anything about your teachers' sex lives when you were in school?

this is just disingenuous.

I didn’t know anything about my teachers’ sex lives, no. But I was fully aware that my 4th grade teacher was the wife of one of the middle school teachers my brother had at the same time. I ended up having her husband as a teacher when I got to middle school as well. my 7th grade math teacher also lived a few doors down the street from me. I knew her family, and my brother was friends with her child. My kindergarten teacher, both elementary music teachers I had, my 7th grade English teacher - were all members of my church. Etc, etc.

Seeing our teachers out in the community was common. We didn’t know about “their sex lives,” but we did absolutely know who their spouses and families were, and in many cases interacted and had relationships with them outside the classroom.

 

[GladToBeHear]

Exactly! French kissing is portrayed in Disney cartoons, for goodness’ sake. Where were the bills to prevent children from seeing Ariel and Eric snogging?

And I've known parents that have shielded even Disney animated movies from their young children if it had a kissing scene in it. That is their right as a parent.

 

[Californian Elitist]

This is about WHO should be talking to the kids about those things. Not IF.

My point still stands. People talk about sexuality without even thinking about it. There’s no way of stopping it. If parents care that much, they should not only homeschool their children, but should keep them away from the world in general and never let them leave their homes.

 

[GladToBeHear]

this is just disingenuous.

I didn’t know anything about my teachers’ sex lives, no. But I was fully aware that my 4th grade teacher was the wife of one of the middle school teachers my brother had at the same time. I ended up having her husband as a teacher when I got to middle school as well. my 7th grade math teacher also lived a few doors down the street from me. I knew her family, and my brother was friends with her child. My kindergarten teacher, both elementary music teachers I had, my 7th grade English teacher - were all members of my church. Etc, etc.

Seeing our teachers out in the community was common. We didn’t know about “their sex lives,” but we did absolutely know who their spouses and families were, and in many cases interacted and had relationships with them outside the classroom.

Sure. And if you saw one of your teachers with a partner of the same sex -- and had questions -- who would you talk to about that?

 

[UNCgolf]

When I was in middle school two of my teachers had an affair with each other, divorced their spouses, and ended up married.

 

[LittleBuford]

And I've known parents that have shielded even Disney animated movies from their young children if it had a kissing scene in it. That is their right as a parent.

Indeed. But those parents have no right to stop Disney making such films for others to enjoy.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Sure. And if you saw one of your teachers with a partner of the same sex -- and had questions -- who would you talk to about that?

Why don’t you tell us why any of this justifies dissolving Reedy Creek Improvement District and dropping new taxes on the county residents?

 

[GladToBeHear]

My point still stands. People talk about sexuality without even thinking about it. There’s no way of stopping it. If parents care that much, they should not only homeschool their children, but should keep them away from the world in general and never let them leave their homes.

Nobody is trying to stop it. They're trying to keep it at home. With the parents. Where it belongs. And a majority of Floridians agree.

 

[UNCgolf]

Sure. And if you saw one of your teachers with a partner of the same sex -- and had questions -- who would you talk to about that?

That's all fine and dandy, but the bill just doesn't do that effectively -- and it goes far beyond that. If this bill only did what people are suggesting it does, most people wouldn't have a serious problem with it.

Instead it's a poorly written mess that's wildly ambiguous and also weaponizes private lawsuits as a scare tactic.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Sure. And if you saw one of your teachers with a partner of the same sex -- and had questions -- who would you talk to about that?

Quite honestly - I probably would have asked them. As a kid I would have had no reason to think I couldn’t ask them, as I trusted all of my teachers completely. And no, my parents weren’t always around when I would see them in the neighborhood or community.

 

[LittleBuford]

When I was in middle school two of my teachers had an affair with each other, divorced their spouses, and ended up married.

But were you indoctrinated to copy them in adulthood?

 

[Californian Elitist]

Exactly! French kissing is portrayed in Disney cartoons, for goodness’ sake. Where were the bills to prevent children from seeing Ariel and Eric snogging?

Seriously!

My mom has mentioned the “gay agenda” a few times (not recently, but still). Seeing gay couples/people on tv is not okay, but I have very distinct memories of being of elementary school age and watching Pretty Woman and quoting the movie with my mom religiously. We used to watch that movie together all the time. And those of us who’ve seen Pretty Woman knows all the naughty things that happen in that movie. Between the ages of maybe six and twelve, “I say who, I say when, I say…who!” and “Big mistake! Big. Huge!” came out of my mouth with no slip ups.

I still love that movie.

 

[Polkadotdress]

I did dispute it. But the last time I did, that post was deleted. I’ll take a different approach this time.

Here's what Scott Randolph said in this CNN video:

Now I represent 1.4 million people in Orange County who like you said might be stuck with a $163 million tax bill. On day one when that special taxing district gets dissolved, one side of the ledger is going to say zero, and the other side is going to say negative $163 million. And Orange County residents are going to have to find a way to make that up.​

Randolph is not dumb or uninformed. He knows Florida tax law perfectly well. He knows that the solution is a Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU).

What is an MSTU?

Article VII (Finance and Taxation) of the Florida Constitution gives the Florida legislature broad powers to tax, with the exception of an ad valorem tax (i.e. a real estate or personal property tax), which must be charged at the county or lower level. Article VII Section 1(a) (Taxes; rate) includes:

No state ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon real estate or tangible personal property. All other forms of taxation shall be preempted to the state except as provided by general law.​

In other words, the State of Florida cannot charge an ad valorem tax, but Orange County can.

In discussing this ad valorem tax, Article VII Section 2 (Taxes; rate) makes reference to a "taxing unit":

All ad valorem taxation shall be at a uniform rate within each taxing unit​

The state constitution does not require that ad valorem taxes be the same for everyone within the county, only that it be the same for everyone within the "taxing unit".

Florida Statue Sections 125.01(1)(q) and (r) give counties the power to create municipal service taxing units. These are land areas within the county with common needs that require special tax considerations.

Furthermore, the Florida state legislature has the authority to modify the existing Section 125.01 (Powers and duties) to take into account special considerations resulting from the dissolvement of RCID.

Scott Randolph knows this but he is not telling you. I suggest you research Scott Randolph's publicly available political activity and draw your own conclusions as to why he's not telling you this.

 

[UNCgolf]

But were you indoctrinated to copy them in adulthood?

Obviously. If only I could have filed a lawsuit against them...

 

[Californian Elitist]

Nobody is trying to stop it. They're trying to keep it at home. With the parents. Where it belongs. And a majority of Floridians agree.

Right. Therefore, parents should keep their kids locked away in their homes. It’s the only way to keep the conversation/displays at home and only at home.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

And I've known parents that have shielded even Disney animated movies from their young children if it had a kissing scene in it. That is their right as a parent.

Those don't sound like the kind of people I want having ANY influence on children's public education.