Florida Student Who Organized 'Don't Say Gay' Protest Is Suspended
against the Parental Rights in Education legislation, which would ban the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades at Florida schools.After leading the walkout at his own school on Thursday, Petocz distributed around 200 pride flags for a rally.
The teenager told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that he had been advised not to hand out the flags by the school's principal, Greg Schwartz.In a statement posted on social media, Petocz said he had wanted to protest the "homophobic and discriminatory legislation" at the rally, which had been approved by the school."Over 500 students from my school joined thousands of other concerned youth statewide to demonstrate their constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom to protest," Petocz wrote."Students waved pride flags and stood together, showing the politicians peddling bigotry that we will not be silenced."Petocz added that even though the school administration had permitted the demonstration, their "demeanor and tone drastically shifted" as the rally progressed.He said administrators began confiscating students' pride flags and attempted to remove them from campus. "I encouraged my fellow students not to give in to the school's unconstitutional seizure of our pride flags, but instead to continue demonstrating our pride in a peaceful manner," he wrote.After the rally, he was told that he had been indefinitely suspended.
He was escorted off-campus after gathering his belongings."I am proud of who I am and I am proud of all of those protesting these regressive bills," Petocz said.
