On Thursday, a federal judge partially blocked a new state law in Florida aimed at eliminating political indoctrination from classrooms and workplaces, claiming that the law was unconstitutional.
As reported by CNN, the 44-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Mark Walker determined that the Individual Freedom Act (IFA), also known as the “Stop WOKE Act,” “discriminates on the basis of viewpoint in violation of the First Amendment and is impermissibly vague in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.” As such, the ruling blocks the state from enforcing certain parts of the law, which went into effect on July 1st.
The law, championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), is meant to combat far-left indoctrination in schools, workplaces, and elsewhere, targeting such concepts as Critical Race Theory and transgenderism, among others. The suit was filed by three employers who insist on enacting such political indoctrination on their employees – two companies who want to demand that their staff attend “diversity and inclusion” trainings, as well as a consultant who is already mandating such lectures.
“If Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case,” Walker continued in his ruling. “But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents. Because, without justification, the IFA attacks ideas, not conduct.” He further described the law as “upside-down.”
Walker also declared in his ruling that he would not allow for the possibility of a stay on the injunction even if the state decides to appeal, meaning that the ban on parts of the law will go into effect immediately.