Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Will Hurt Teens Like Me
Winter Park, Fla. — Last October, I attended a high school Halloween party. A group of guys from my school surrounded me and shouted homophobic slurs.
One even threatened me with physical violence. When I broke down crying in class the next day, my teacher comforted me. She told me that she had gone through something similar when she was my age.
On Tuesday, the Florida Senate approved the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The bill seeks to ban public schools in the state from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade, or through the twelfth grade in a manner deemed “age-inappropriate” by parents.
Had the proposed law been in effect last year, my teacher could have put herself in jeopardy by being there for me. From an early age I knew I was different.
