"These actions violate the students’ clearly established rights under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause," Williams continued.Ĭourt documents state the university issued the order under its Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and its Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Policies. "Instead of allowing the students to disagree civilly and respectfully with one another and to discuss these important issues, the University chose instead to censor Plaintiffs," according to attorney Matthew Williams for the CLS students. Ron DeSantis spoke about Disney's opposition to the Parental Rights in Education bill, also labeled by critics as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, calling their efforts to repeal the bill as "crossing the line." The governor, who was speaking about a lawsuit filed by the state over a mask mandate on planes, called Disney's actions hypocrisy. RELATED: NYC posting billboards in Florida denouncing 'Don't Say Gay' law, inviting LGBTQ+ to cityĭeSantis: Disney 'crossed the line' over so-called 'Don't Say Gay' billįlorida Gov. The CLS students contend they were not given a chance to defend themselves before the no-contact order was issued and that the university rushed to silence them. The CLS students then claimed the university issued a no-contact order, prohibiting them from interacting with a non-member to discuss gay marriage any further. The CLS students denied allegations that they told students they were going to hell for believing in gay marriage, and one CLS member said "the biggest discrimination he had seen on campus was the discrimination against CLS and its religious beliefs, and that he was concerned about the state of religious freedom on campus." However, word got out and the CLS was publicly denounced by non-members for its views on marriage on April 4 at a panel meeting with the American Bar Association. The students claimed their beliefs were rooted in the Bible and offered to discuss the matter further at a later time. While the students attended the event, another student asked the group why CLS required its officers to affirm that marriage is between a man and a woman. RELATED: Judge: Former Kentucky clerk violated same-sex couples' rights