Judge blocks Florida from enforcing pronoun law against transgender teacher

“Florida is proud to lead the way in standing up for our children,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said last year as he signed an expansion to HB1069. On Wednesay, a federal judge temporarily blocked Florida from enforcing the 2023 law. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo

April 10 (UPI) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked Florida from enforcing its 2023 law — which restricts how pronouns can be used — against a transgender teacher who sued the state.

While Tuesday’s ruling does not block statewide enforcement of the law, it does allow transgender teacher Katie Wood to use she/her pronouns because she had expressed her personal pronouns before the 2023 law took effect.

“Once again, the state of Florida has a First Amendment problem,” Judge Mark Walker wrote in his decision.

“This time, the state of Florida declares that it has the absolute authority to redefine your identity if you choose to teach in a public school. So, the question before this court is whether the First Amendment permits the state to dictate, without limitation, how public school teachers refer to themselves when communicating to students,” Walker wrote. “The answer is a thunderous ‘no.’”

“The state of Florida has not justified this grave restraint, and so the United States Const