(NewsNation) — After Disney’s CEO was criticized for not protesting a controversial Florida bill this month, some are debating what corporations’ role in politics should be.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that prohibits discussion about sexual orientation before the fourth grade, and even then bans discussions that are not age or developmentally appropriate.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek watched some of his employees walk out in protest because they did not believe the company was taking a strong enough stance against a bill some online dubbed the “Don’t say gay” bill, though DeSantis refuted that characterization of the law.

NewsNation’s Dan Abrams and Equality Florida’s Nadine Smith discussed the effect corporate advocacy can have on an issue on Monday’s “Dan Abrams Live.”

Dan Abrams: As always, let me try and be transparent with you about my views. I think it’s a dumb law. It’s fixing a problem that doesn’t exist, and it’s just an effort to score political points with a particular base. But at the same time, I disagree with those on the left demanding that Disney take a public position against it. It’s a slippery slope. Does Disney, or any other large corporation for that matter, now have to speak out regarding all controversial issues — from gun control, abortion, capital punishment — in every state they do major business in? Bottom line here is that the only impact Disney’s comments will have on the law is to make Governor DeSantis more of a hero for fighting a big “woke” company. And all it will do is lead many on the right maybe to not want to come to Disney. I guess that could mean fewer jobs for the same people protesting. But joining me now to discuss is Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, which advocates for the LGBTQ community and supported the protests from Disney employees. Thank you very much for taking the time. I appreciate it. So what do you think I’m getting wrong here?

Nadine Smith: Well, a couple of quick things. I would just say the bill doesn’t just impact K-3 students. I agree with you. It’s a bad law that is invented just to pander to the base DeSantis is cultivating for his potential presidential run, but it actually covers K-12, using language about age appropriate and developmentally appropriate. It’s really being driven by people who are not only banning any conversation about sexual orientation or gender identity, but also seeking to ban books. In one county, they sought to ban 156 books. Most of them had LGBT content or were by Black authors, including one about two male penguins raising a chick together based on a true story from a New York Zoo. So he’s really handing over the keys to Florida’s educational system to the most extreme elements.

Abrams: But if I could ask you to come back to the issue that I guess I’m raising specifically, which is forcing a company like Disney to come out and make a statement about it, it just seems to me that this is a very dangerous road to go down. When we start demanding, no matter what side of whatever issue you’re on, that major corporations come out and make statements on the most controversial issues of the day, as I mentioned, capital punishment, gun control, you name it. It does seem that we’re heading down a dangerous slope, no?

Smith: No, I don’t think so. And in fact, if you think about it, corporations come out on sides of legislation all the time. You talk about gun control? Parks don’t want people carrying guns into their theme parks, they’ve spoken on that issue before. But what we’re dealing with here is an issue that affects … daily lives. Disney is bringing employees to Florida, they want to make sure that those employees are bringing their families, their children, to a place that isn’t going to demonize their kids and make … classrooms that are are more hostile. But if you look at HB2 in North Carolina (the bill about transgender bathrooms), it was huge pressure from corporations that said, “this is untenable for us, you put us at a competitive disadvantage, and we’re gonna have to move elsewhere if you don’t repeal this law.”

Abrams: That’s a good point. So let me ask you about that. Do you actually think, though, that this is going to have a practical impact? Disney’s not going to move out of Florida over this. I don’t see how it has a practical impact on the law. Because if it could, then I could see saying, “our advocacy is going to do XY and Z, etc.” I just don’t see how possibly the advocacy on the part of Disney is going to have any impact. But tell me if you think I’m wrong.

Smith: Oh, I think that the advocacy by Disney and other major corporations is having a huge impact. In fact, Equality Florida’s been around for 25 years, and for 24 of those years, no anti-LGBT legislation passed in Florida. And it was due in no small part because major employers said, ‘You are going to hurt our economic competitiveness.’ They would do it because it was not only the right thing to do, but also the economic smart thing to do. So, yes, DeSantis doesn’t care about what anybody says right now, because he’s playing to presidential primary audiences outside of Florida. But there are other lawmakers in this process. So we’re going to work to repeal this law. The majority of Floridians oppose this law. And we are going to challenge it in court. And in the meantime, not only do we think Disney should be speaking up on behalf of the quality of life of their employees in order to bring talent and keep talent, but we hope other companies will stand up to and say, “Listen, this is not conducive to the kind of environment that is going to draw the best and brightest and keep that talent.” And I’ll just, I’ll just end with this, Dan. Companies have played a role in every single major social justice movement from desegregation, ending Jim Crow, ending the bus boycott, ending apartheid in South Africa. The voices of business have been part of all of those conversations, and now it’s no different.

Abrams: I think those are fair arguments, and you did so very eloquently, but I think that in the end on this one, in particular, that it’s not going to have any impact, but we shall see. As you say, you’re going to continue to try and get to your legislators there. I don’t think it’s going to change anything, but we’re going to follow it.