Time USA (2022-02-28)

8 Time February 28/March 7, 2022

A shot in

the dark

One million miles

from home, the

James Webb

Space Telescope is

preparing for its job

of peering deeper

into space than

any telescope ever

has before. But on

Feb. 11, an onboard

camera looked

much closer, taking

this selfie of the

telescope’s 21-ft.-

wide, 18-segment

main mirror.

Each of those

segments can be

moved in seven

axes for pinpoint

focusing; in this

image, the single

bright segment is

pointed directly at a

star. —Jeffrey Kluger

THE BULLETIN

What Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill means for LGBTQ kids

On Feb. 8, PresidenT JOe biden cOn-

demned legislation swiftly moving through

Florida’s state legislature that would ban

public school districts from “encouraging”

classroom discussion of sexual orienta-

tion or gender identity. Supporters of the

bill claim it would keep parents involved in

their kids’ educations; critics have labeled

it a discriminatory attempt by GOP law-

makers to stir support among their base at

the expense of LGBTQ students.

TARGETED EFFORTS The “Don’t Say Gay”

bill is part of a wave of legislation target-

ing what can and cannot be said in public

school classrooms across the U.S. A Feb. 15

report by PEN America, a nonprofit orga-

nization that advocates for free expression,

found that 2022 has seen a rise in “educa-

tional gag orders” in state legislatures, in-

cluding 15 bills that would ban discussion

of LGBTQ identities. GOP lawmakers also

introduced a record number of bills in 2021

targeting LGBTQ students, limiting their

ability to play sports or access medical care.

CURRICULUM CHANGES Specifically, the

Florida bill seeks to ban LGBTQ instruction

at “primary grade levels.” (Florida doesn’t

have a statutory definition for that term at

the moment, however, so critics argue it’s

unclear what age range it would apply to.)

At a recent state senate hearing, a lawmaker

gave the example of math problems framed

with details like “Sally has two moms.”

That, the bill’s sponsor said, is “exactly”

what it aims to prevent.

LEGAL THREATS The legislation also allows

parents to sue school districts over class-

room discussions they deem inappropriate—

opening the door to “frivolous lawsuits,”

argues Kara Gross, legislative director and

senior policy counsel of the American Civil

Liberties Union of Florida. Critics say the

bill will stop students from discussing

LGBTQ friends or family members—and

prevent LGBTQ students, who often al-

ready face increased rates of stigma and

isolation, from speaking about their very

existence. —mAdeLeine cArLisLe

NEWS TICKER

settled

a lawsuit brought

by Virginia Giuffre,

alleges that

the CIA has for years

been collecting data in

bulk

reopen

an embassy in the

Solomon Islands

THE BRIEF NEWS

NASA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES