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After Sun Sentinel senior reporter Scott Travis was called out for falsely referring to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill as a “Don’t say gay bill” by conservatives on Twitter, he openly admitted it was a “good lesson on the brand” by the Democrats. . Then the conservatives hit him even harder. On Friday, the Florida-based paper’s writer shared The Hill’s write-up about the state’s parental rights in education bill that took effect that day. The bill — widely known on the left as the Don’t Say Gay Bill after it coined the name — “prohibits school officials or third parties from providing classroom instruction about “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” in kindergarten until the third grade.” Travis shared the article and captioned it with a copy of its headline, writing on Twitter: “Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law goes into effect today. The impact is already being felt.” BRIAN KILMEADE REVEALS WHY TRUST IN MEDIA, OTHER INSTITUTIONS ‘FALLS’ Journalists have portrayed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill as an attack on the gay community. (iStock) Conservative Twitter users called out the disingenuous moniker for the legislation and criticized the reporter for using the phrase. Conservative writer and film critic Jacob Airey responded to Travis’ post, tweeting, “That’s not the name of the bill, ‘Scott’.” And The Spectator editor Stephen L. Miller corrected Travis, tweeting, “That’s not the name of the law.” Miller’s tweet prompted Travis to bite back, and the reporter’s response admitted more than expected to the cynical nature of the left, calling it a “Don’t call gay bill.” He responded to Miller, writing, “That’s why it’s in quotes. But the name recognition for ‘don’t say gay’ in the public is much higher than the actual name of the account. It’s a good marketing/marketing lesson.” Miller expressed surprise at how forthcoming Travis was about the leftist agenda. He tweeted: “We started calling it that and you know, look how many people recognize it’ is a pretty amazing admission for a journalist,” mimicking what he claimed was Travis’ perspective. US Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has defended the Parental Rights in Education bill from media smears for months. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images) DESANTIS CAMPAIGN DEFENDS FLORIDA PARENTAL RIGHTS LAW, COUNTS OFF WHITE HOUSE ‘LIE’ Travis fired back with a curt response, saying, “If you’re going to use quotes, quote accurately.” In another comment on this admission, Miller wrote: “Lies are good and journalists will use them if they are well-branded. You know, that’s a good lesson.” Travis responded again, this time tweeting: “Not just reporters. The name stuck.” Mocking the Sun Sentinel writer, Miller wrote, “It’s a lie, but we’ll keep using it.” Another conservative went after Travis for his tweet. Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., Christina Pushaw’s spokesman posted a screenshot of the entire exchange between Miller and Travis for all of her followers to see. He captioned the image, writing on Twitter, “Senior reporter at @SunSentinel” in an attempt to expose his bias. In response to Travis’ request to “put it down accurately,” Pushaw asked, “You mean you put ‘Don’t say gay’ in quotes even though it’s an inaccurate description of the law?” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community attend the “Say Gay Anyway” rally in Miami Beach, Florida on March 13, 2022. – The Florida state senate on March 8 passed a controversial bill banning sexual orientation and gender identity classes in elementary schools . step that critics complain will harm the LGBTQ community. Opposition Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists have lobbied against what they call the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which would affect children in kindergarten through third grade, when they are eight or nine years old. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Gabriel Hays is a contributing editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @gabrieljhays.