In announcing the bill’s passage Florida governor Ron DeSantis told reporters – “If you look over the last many decades, one of the worst social trends has been the decline of fatherhood and we do have, in many instances, a fatherhood crisis in this country.”
The legislation passed with unanimous support among lawmakers in both the Florida House and Senate,
The bill authorizes the creation of a Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, which “must provide an opportunity for every father in the state to be able to obtain information and inspiration that will motivate and enable him to enhance his abilities as a father, recognizing that some fathers have greater challenges than others and would benefit from greater support.”
Fathers in the state will have access to a website and other electronic resources where they can find parenting information and support resources. Resources will also come from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse.
Also at the press conference was former NFL football player Jack Brewer who described the law as “the order of God.”
Brewer runs the Jack Brewer Foundation’s American Heroes Initiative, which partners professional athletes and local leaders with fatherlessness youth across the U.S. to “bridge the cultural gaps that are escalating [due] to the absence of spirituality and positive male influence”.