Florida high schooler Zander Moricz on fighting “Don’t Say Gay”
On March 28 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1557 into law – better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. 2021 saw a huge influx in specifically anti-trans bills.
Since then, more and more wide-reaching anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been popping up with states like Florida often leading the charge.The “Don’t Say Gay” bill uses vague language to ban instruction on “sexual orientation and gender identity” from either “school personnel” or “third parties.” This could be interpreted to mean that students would not be able to come out or discuss gender and sexuality with their peers, and it certainly seems that proponents of the law intend to implement it that way.
Similarly, while the bill is targeted at grades K-3, language is included that will enable it to be applied far more extensively than that.
For many LGBTQ+ individuals, school can be a safe place to come out to accepting adults and friends when it might be dangerous to discuss these issues in home and family life.
