Florida students are walking out of school in protest of 'Don't Say Gay' bill
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
More than 500 students at Winter Park High School in Florida made it known on Monday that they do not agree with the "Don't Say Gay" bill now under consideration in the state Senate.
The students walked out of school at 9 a.m. ET in protest of the controversial bill, H.B. 1557, which would prohibit teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade and limit discussions for older students.
Opponents of the measure say it would further stigmatize gay, lesbian, and transgender youth. Research from the Trevor Project shows that in the past year, LGBTQ kids who learned about LGBTQ history and issues at school were 23 percent less likely to attempt suicide. The bill passed the Florida House in February with a 69-47 vote, and is now in the state Senate; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has indicated he supports the measure.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Monday's walkout was organized by students Will Larkins and Maddi Zornek, and came after several other Florida high schools held similar protests last Thursday and Friday. Students chanted "We say gay!" and carried signs that read "Protect Trans Kids." The goal of the walkouts is to "show our government that this isn't going to stop," Larkins told CNN. "This is going to continue. If this passes, there will be protests everywhere. We wanted to get the attention of our representatives, our senators, because the point is to show them that we are the ones in power. The people are the ones in power and what they're doing doesn't represent us, especially marginalized groups."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Earth is rapidly approaching a ‘hothouse’ trajectory of warmingThe explainer It may become impossible to fix
-
Health insurance: Premiums soar as ACA subsidies endFeature 1.4 million people have dropped coverage
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
