Florida Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson announced on April 10 that she would be supporting an anti-Semitism bill in the Florida state legislature after she voted against it on April 8.
The bill would require schools in Florida to treat anti-Semitism the same way they would treat racism; included in the definition is anti-Semitism is dual loyalty tropes.
Gibson was the lone state senator to vote against the bill while it was in committee on April 8, arguing that the bill provided “special protections” to Jews, but not to other religions, meaning that the bill was meant to be divisive. The next day, Gibson doubled down by issuing a statement saying that the bill “fights the wrong battle, and targets the wrong enemy.”
After facing bipartisan criticism on the matter, Gibson held a brief press conference on April 10 announcing her support for the bill after meeting with Jewish lawmakers and Jewish organizations.
“It was never my intent to insult in any way the Jewish community or my Jewish colleagues,” Gibson said. She also said that there were “seemingly deliberate efforts to try and paint me into a corner and paint me as someone that I am not” and that the bill was “very confusing.”
Gibson didn’t take any questions.
State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), who was one of the sponsors of the bill, tweeted out a statement calling Gibson’s press conference “disingenuous”:
My response to @SenAudrey2eet press conference. I found it disingenuous and know this: I’m awfully glad she’s not my leader. pic.twitter.com/AE9pgBszg7
— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) April 10, 2019
Fine told the Journal in a phone interview that he was “optimistic” that the bill would pass the state legislature.
“I think it’s even more important that we make a strong statement that this is not acceptable and we pass this,” Fine said.
