Thousands of Florida high school students walked out of classes Thursday to protest the state’s Republican-backed bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. [No digan gay].
The walkout was part of a campaign organized by Flagler Palm Coast High School junior Jack Petocz, and the strike’s message was spread on social media with the hashtag #DSGWalkout.
“Today, the Florida House of Representatives passed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. Students are angry, frustrated and ready to fight back against this disgusting legislation,” Petocz tweeted on February 24. “I am organizing a statewide school walkout on March 3 at 12:00 pm in opposition.”
The Parents’ Rights in Education bill is awaiting its final vote on the Florida state senate floor after passing its last committee vote this week following passage in the state house.
If passed, the bill would ban discussions of gender identity and sexuality in the state’s public schools.
Petocz said that more than 20 schools in Florida had announced that they would participate in the strike. Students from Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg marched with blue, pink and white transgender community flags and drew a rainbow on the ground.
Social media walkouts were also seen in Gainesville, Orange Park and Fort Myers. High school students in Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, protested at the state capitol, chanting “we say gay,” holding signs and waving a gay pride flag.
The handmade signs used by the students featured slogans such as “protect LGBTQ+ children”, “my existence will not be taboo”, “abolish the Don’t Say Gay bill now” and “Don’t say gay… shout it!”
Several Democratic lawmakers greeted the students and took photos with them, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Tallahassee high school senior Ashton Link, 18, told the newspaper it was his first time protesting, adding that the proposed law is “blatantly” discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people.
“Basically, they’re trying to silence the LGBTQ community by saying, ‘Oh, okay. You can be gay, but don’t talk about it. Pretend you’re not gay,’” she said.
Petocz has spoken out against the bill on Twitter since February. He told reporters that he had been suspended “pending an investigation” after his work at the demonstration.
Orlando activist Jack Cocchiarella tweeted that “a student in Florida was suspended for distributing gay pride flags at today’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill protest. This is unacceptable!”
Students at Colonial High School in Orlando staged a walkout Wednesday.
“It is truly amazing to see students at a school in East Orlando, Colonial High School, protesting the #dontsaygaybill bill! Keep up the pressure everyone!!” State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith published.
“Bravo!!! Future leaders standing up and speaking out against the #DontSayGayBill project!” added State Sen. Linda Stewart.
Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith tweeted that “the @GOP’s agenda of censorship and intimidation knows no bounds. Books are already being pulled from shelves in Florida schools as @GovRonDeSantis pushes his agenda to gag students, erase history, intimidate teachers, and hit public schools with lawsuits.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against the narrative surrounding the bill during a news conference Friday, issuing new warnings about his concerns around transgender issues in schools.
“It’s inappropriate to bring such issues as transgenderism into the classroom,” she said, according to Florida Politics.
He also disagreed with the bill being referred to as “don’t say gay.”
“You call it that. I haven’t seen that in any of these bills,” DeSantis told a reporter. “Where does this come from?”
“Does the truth matter or not? Is that in any of these bills? Yes or no,” she added.
He said “it’s none of my business” and “this is not my legislation,” but he still defended the bill.
“You actually look at the bill and it says there is no sex instruction in grades PK-3. How many parents want to see transgenderism or something introduced into classroom instruction?” he said.
“Basically, I mean our younger students… do they really want to be taught about sex? And this is any sexual issue. But I think clearly right now, we see a focus on transgenderism, telling kids they can choose genders and all of that,” DeSantis added.
