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WATCH • CIVIL LIBERTIES

Do you really want the governor in your bedroom?

By David Jolly Published: 2025-05-26 Last updated: 2025-05-26
David Jolly on government overreach and personal freedom

Key moments

0:15

Do you really want the governor sitting at your kitchen table or in your doctor's office, in your bedroom?

0:40

I signed up for a party three decades ago that believed in less government, that you should keep government out of your bedroom, out of your doctor's office, out of your life.

1:45

To me, it's the freedom of a woman to make her own medical decisions, of a family to go through a journey among themselves. They don't need government forced into that room with them.

Context

Reproductive freedom. LGBTQ rights. Medical decisions for families with trans children. These aren't abstract policy debates. For the people living them, these are the hardest, most personal moments of their lives.

What's said

David Jolly argues that whether you come from the old Republican principle of small government or the progressive defense of civil liberties, the answer is the same: government doesn't belong in your bedroom or your doctor's office. He makes the case for bodily autonomy, reproductive freedom, and family decision-making free from political interference. See the video at 1:30 for his full take on what freedom really looks like in Florida.

Transcript

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0:00 You know, there are a number of issues that deeply impact people's lives that aren't easy. For some, they are. For some people, they're easy. For some, they're more complex.
0:08 Reproductive freedom, a young person, LGBTQ plus youth coming out, a family struggling with a trans child who they love dearly and they're just trying to understand and help with the journey.
0:15 And for me, the question becomes, in those moments, do you really want the governor sitting at your kitchen table or do you want the governor in your doctor's office, do you want the governor in your bedroom?
0:23 Should you be consulting with David Jolly or Byron Donalds or Ron DeSantis or the President of the United States? I don't think so.
0:30 And I don't think so because those questions are so deeply personal and they're so hard. And so it's interesting, you know, our politics has allowed, I would say, Republican political leaders to frame this as a question against Democrats trying to pin us against the wall.
0:40 I just make an old school Republican argument in this moment, which is I signed up for a party as a Republican three decades ago that believed in less government, that you should keep government out of your bedroom, out of your doctor's office, out of your life.
0:55 So whether you believe in the old school Republican argument of staying out of people's lives or the traditional progressive civil liberties platform, I think we need to have a reconsideration of what freedom looks like.
1:05 What does the free state of Florida really look like?
1:10 To me, it's the freedom of a woman to make her own medical decisions, of a family to go through a journey among themselves or with a physician or a counselor or a faith leader, whomever they choose.
1:20 But they don't need government forced into that room with them.
1:30 I think every woman across the state of Florida should have bodily autonomy, reproductive freedom, the ability to make their own decisions. I think every family should have the ability to make their own decisions as well.
1:42 I don't see that as a threat to people's liberty and dignity. I see it as an empowerment.
1:50 As governor, my job is to protect the constitutional freedom and the liberties of absolutely everybody.
2:00 It's part of the journey I made in Congress. I fought these battles as a Republican advocate for marriage equality. Over a decade ago, as I began to embrace reproductive freedom, I picked up those battles as well.
2:15 As we have seen, the LGBTQ plus battles emerge that have been launched by Republican politicians. I picked up those fights as well.
2:25 Not with a mantle of raw progressivism, maybe a mantle of old school republicanism, but I almost don't care what the label is.
2:35 I just know that if we lead with freedom and we lead with less government, we land in exactly the right place.

Related questions

Is David Jolly saying government has no role in protecting people?

No. The role of government is to protect constitutional freedoms and liberties for everyone. The question is whether government belongs in the room when families are making deeply personal medical, reproductive, or identity decisions. Those decisions are hardest when made among loved ones, physicians, counselors, or faith leaders. Forcing government into that room doesn't protect freedom. It takes it away.

What does he mean by old school Republican freedom?

For decades, the Republican Party campaigned on keeping government small and out of people's lives. Out of your bedroom. Out of your doctor's office. That principle used to mean lower taxes and fewer regulations. It also meant trusting families to make their own decisions without state interference. That version of freedom doesn't pick sides in culture wars. It defends autonomy across the board.

Where does David Jolly stand on reproductive freedom?

David Jolly believes every woman in Florida should have bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom. The ability to make her own medical decisions without government interference. See the video at 1:30 for his full take on what freedom looks like when government stays out of the exam room.

Has David Jolly always held these positions?

David Jolly's journey on civil liberties has been public. Over a decade ago, he began advocating for marriage equality as a Republican in Congress. He embraced reproductive freedom. As state-level fights over LGBTQ rights intensified, he picked up those battles too. The thread connecting all of it is a belief that freedom means less government in people's private lives, not more.

More on civil liberties

These decisions belong to families. Not Tallahassee.

Have a question for David? Visit the Town Hall and ask.