The possibility of ending Disney’s self-governing status was expanded by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in response to the company’s pushback on the state’s parental rights bill.
“Look, there’s policy disputes, and that’s fine. But when you’re trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant threat,” DeSantis explained.
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DeSantis said this after a new Florida law was publicly disapproved by Disney. The law bans discussion of s-xual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. Disney sent a company-wide email denouncing the legislation, which was followed by an announcement of Disney executives, that it would remove “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” from its park greetings.
“This wokeness will destroy this country if we let it run unabated. So in Florida, we take a very big stand against that,” DeSantis said, as stated in a report.
Lawmakers are looking at revoking a 55-year-old law, the governor confirmed. This law permits Disney to operate as a separate municipality called Reedy Creek Improvement District, equipped with its own fire, water, waste departments, as well as a privately-owned and operated police.
“Under that law, they actually can build their own nuclear power plant. I mean, it’s extraordinary what’s been in there,” said DeSantis.
“Six months ago, it would have been unthinkable that [lawmakers] would be willing to reevaluate those special privileges. I think they are going to do that now, and that’s going to represent a major shift for our state,” DeSantis noted.
Florida’s largest employer will become regulated by Orange County if the law is repealed, which is one of the few Democrat-run counties in the state.
“We very much support the jobs that are employed at Disney, and then there’s a larger ecosystem of a lot of small businesses in Florida that feed into our theme parks,” said DeSantis.
“But here’s what I would say: Treating every business the same is what I think you should do,” DeSantis added.
