Florida Gov. In response to Disney’s objections on Friday’s “Fox & Friends”, Ron DeSantis suggested that Disney could be forced to cease its self-governing status.
DeSantis stated, “Look, there are policy disputes. That’s fine. But when you try to impose an ideology on our state that is woke, that’s a serious threat.”
DeSantis’ remarks come as Disney publicly disapproves of a Florida law that bans the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. Disney executives sent a company-wide email decrying the legislation and announced that they would be removing “ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls” greetings from their parks.
DeSantis warned that “This wokeness would destroy this country” if it continued unabated. “We in Florida take a strong stand against this.”
The governor confirmed that lawmakers were looking into revoking a 55 year-old law that allows Disney to operate as a separate municipality called Reedy Creek Improvement District. This district is equipped with its own private-owned and operated fire, water, and waste departments.
DeSantis stated that “Under this law, they can actually build their own nuclear energy plant.” “It’s amazing what’s been there.”
DeSantis stated that six months ago it was unimaginable that lawmakers would be willing to reevaluate these special privileges. “I believe they will do that now, and it’s going be a major shift in our state,” DeSantis stated.
If the law is repealed then Florida’s largest employer would be regulated by Orange County. This is one of the few Democrat-run counties within the state.
DeSantis stated that “we very much support jobs at Disney” and that there is a wider ecosystem of small businesses in Florida that feed into the theme parks.
