Thankfully, there is a growing effort to protect America's children with stronger laws. The latest example is in Florida, where Republican legislators have just introduced HB 1135, a one-page bill that would make it a second-degree felony for any adult to engage in "lewd or lascivious grooming" of a minor child. The bill describes that conduct as the act of "preparing or encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity through overtly sexually themed communications with the child or in conduct with or observed by the child without permission from the child's parent or legal guardian."
The bill has real teeth. Under Florida law, second-degree felonies are punishable for up to 15 years in prison. Repeat offenders could receive 30-year sentences. If HB 1135 passes, Governor Ron DeSantis' office has already signaled that he will sign it.
Of course, after the bill's introduction there was an immediate pushback. Even though the legislation does not make a distinction between heterosexual grooming or homosexual grooming, the LGBTQ+ lobby is already calling it a "threat" to their "community."
One transgender writer, Erin Reed, in the Los Angeles Blade claimed that the word "grooming" is a hidden slur against LGBTQ+ people. He incredibly went on to compare conservative supporters of the legislation to Nazis.
The backlash is revealing and ridiculous. Parents don't want their children "groomed" by heterosexual adults or anyone identifying as an LGBTQ+ individual. They don't want their children groomed period! Congratulations to the Florida legislators who introduced these new protections.
