Anna Paulina Luna, Matt Gaetz voted against a campus antisemitism bill. Here’s why.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill that would change the definition of antisemitism in federal discrimination law.

Not every Florida lawmaker was on board.

Although the measure passed the House 320-91, Republicans Anna Paulina Luna, Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds and Democrat Maxwell Frost voted against it. (Republican Mario Diaz-Balart did not vote on the bill.)

Gaetz and Luna said they voted against the so-called Antisemitism Awareness Act, because it would codify the definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Included in that group’s examples of antisemitism is the claim that Jews killed Jesus Christ.

“This legislation is written without regard for the Constitution, common sense, or even the common understanding of the meaning of words,” Gaetz posted to X. “The Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of this bill!”

Gaetz then posted numerous Bible verses that seemed to bolster his claim that the Bible says Jews were responsible for the death of Christ, including 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16.

On its website, the Anti-Defamation League says that the idea of Jews collectively killing Jesus has been the basis for “centuries” of violence against the Jewish people. The organization argues that the idea is based on a misunderstanding of history, and notes that the Catholic Church “discredited” the idea in 1964.

Hours after posting the Bible verses, Gaetz said he wasn’t taking a stance on who killed Jesus one way or the other. His vote, he said, was a defense of the Constitution.

“The Bible is clear in that its words plainly, textually, would violate this law,” Gaetz wrote. “That is nuts — and in deep conflict with the First Amendment.”

In a statement provided by her office, Luna said she, too, voted against the bill in part because of how the new definition of antisemitism would classify parts of the Bible.

“The bill in itself failed to adequately define antisemitism and did not restrict its definition to only acts of violence but included some language that would label some parts of the Bible as anti-Semitic,” Luna said, noting that she condemned antisemitism, and particularly the anti-Israel protests on college campuses. “The bill was irresponsibly rushed and put on the floor against the objections of many members, which is why you saw the bipartisan vote against it.”

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Donalds’ office did not respond to requests for comment.

Frost, the lone Florida Democrat to vote against the bill, argued that the definition of antisemitism offered was too limited.

“There are real policy solutions Congress can be considering to ensure the safety of all students on campuses — but instead Republican leadership has chosen to vote on messaging bills that actually do nothing to protect the Jewish Community,” Frost said. “(The bill) forces universities to have to over-police students’ free speech to be compliant so that they don’t lose their federal funding.”

Gaetz, Donalds, Frost, Diaz-Balart and Luna are all up for reelection this November.

Five Democrats are running to oust Luna from the district that covers most of Pinellas County: Sabrina Bousbar, Liz Dahan, Whitney Fox, John Liccione and Mark Weinkrantz.

In a statement, Bousbar criticized Luna for her vote. The other Democrats said they would have voted yes.