Basically, nothing has happened in the state of Florida – except that the Walt Disney Company will soon be a completely normal company: in the future it will be subject to the same laws as all the other companies between Jacksonville and Key West. Pay the same taxes and meet the same requirements to consider if he wants to build a new hotel. And yet the decision by the Republican-dominated state legislature in Tallahassee is nothing short of a revolution that puts the spotlight on Kulturkamp in the United States in a way that no film studio could ever do: a corporation perceived as homophobic. The law takes a stand against being – and Ronald Reagan’s ever-friendly party takes revenge by depriving the company of all its privileges. Welcome to 21st century America.
What is this about? With 80,000 employees, Disney is Florida’s largest private employer. Theme parks attract millions of tourists each year who spend billions of dollars in the “Sunshine State”. To make this possible, in 1967 the state of Disney granted rights that hardly any other company in the world has enjoyed: since then, the conglomerate has been a specially created state district of the state about 100 square kilometers southwest of Orlando. lives in, which is largely self. The government, with several taxes and building regulations, operates its own water and electricity works as well as authorities and security services.
For decades, both sides benefited from this within-state creation—until the state legislature recently passed what critics call the “Don’t Say ‘Gay'” law, which allowed Florida schools to pass third grades. The medium prohibits asking children. Any questions on the topic clarify gender identity and sexual orientation. It is based on the belief that today’s youth struggle with their identity or “become gay” simply because liberal Teachers talk about homosexuality.
CEO Chapek has long tried to avoid commenting on the subject.
Disney boss Bob Chapek has long declined to comment on the law – knowing full well that companies that take a position on socio-political issues quickly face boycott calls and other problems. However, under pressure from the workforce, the company spoke out and declared that the law was not in line with its values and “should be withdrawn by parliament or reversed by the courts”. In addition, Disney will stop all donations to state politicians for the time being.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a sort of smart version of populist Donald Trump, immediately saw an opportunity to further sharpen his image as a staunch conservative beyond Florida’s borders. According to polls, the 43-year-old will currently be the most promising Republican presidential contender if Trump does not run for re-election in 2024. The governor pushed through a law in summary proceedings that provided for the dissolution of all Florida’s special districts created before 1968 and which have also been approved by the state Senate, now the House of Representatives. “Disney is a guest in Florida,” Congressman Randy Fine said before the vote. “Today we remind them of this.” In order to legislate and turn Disney into a fully general corporation, only one person needs to sign it: Ron DeSantis.
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