Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
Tamima Rashid
On Thursday, Florida’s House of Representatives passed a bill that prohibits educators from teaching about gender identity and sexuality in elementary schools. It is officially titled the Parental Rights in Education bill. However, it has been widely dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. It is intended to give parents the freedom to choose what their children learn in schools. But, in reality, it has been instigated to keep LGBTQ topics out of children’s education. According to Rep. Joe Harding, “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
This bill will be detrimental. Education surrounding gender identity and sexuality is important to learn about from a young age. It can be the defining factor to prevent a child from becoming part of the crippling statistic that in the US, at least one LGBTQ individual attempts suicide every 45 seconds. Amit Paley, CEO of the Trevor Project has commented, “When lawmakers treat LGBTQ topics as taboo and brand our community as unfit for the classroom, it only adds to the existing stigma and discrimination, which puts LGBTQ young people at greater risk for bullying, depression and suicide."
The vote was 69-47 and will be effective starting July 1, 2022. However, it has not been without opposition. "We are in distress because this bill is yet another attack on our community," says Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith. "This bill goes way beyond the text on its page. It sends a terrible message to our youth that there is something so wrong, so inappropriate, so dangerous about this topic that we have to censor it from classroom instruction." In addition to this, state-wide protests have been in full bloom. Thousands of students walked out on March 3, inspired by Jack Petocz, a senior at Flager Palm Coast High School.
Unfortunately, he was suspended “indefinitely” for distributing pride flags at his protest in Palm Coast. When asked about it, he says, "I believe this attempt to threaten me and remove me from campus is riddled with homophobia and bigotry. You’re silencing a queer student standing up for what he believes in, in his rights, and you’re disciplining him for challenging you on the allowance of pride flags in a gay rally? It’s ridiculous. It truly is. And I think that they were just upset that I was organizing this to begin with, and they just used this as a crutch to go ahead and remove me from campus.”
With national outrage towards this bill, we can only be hopeful for what comes next. President Biden himself tweeted, "I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are.”
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