How Florida's 'Don’t Say Gay' Law Harms LGBTQ+ Stunts and Teachers

Contents:

• GAY STUNT SAYS FLORIDA SCHOOL IS STOPPG HIS N FOR STUNT LEARSHIP
• A FLORIDA CLASS PRINT ULDN’T DISCS BEG GAY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATN SPEECH – SO HE TALKED ABOUT HIS CURLY HAIR
• LGBTQ YOUTH FIGHT BACK AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• GAY HIGH SCHOOLER SAYS HE'S 'BEG SILENCED' BY FLORIDA'S LGBTQ LAW
• FLORIDA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SAYS WILL REFER TO STUNTS ONLY BY 'BLOGIL GENR,' ASKS GAY AND TRANSGENR STUNTS TO LEAVE
• FLORIDA STUNT FDS CLEVER WAY TO SHRED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW IN GRADUATN SPEECH
• AMENDMENT TO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL FLORIDA REQUIR SCHOOLS TO OUT STUNTS TO THEIR PARENTS WH SIX WEEKS
• GAY FLORIDA STUNT WHO LED PROTT CAN'T RUN FOR CLASS PRINT
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS
• FLORIDA STUNTS STAGE SCHOOL WALKOUTS OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• HOW FLORIDA'S 'DON’T SAY GAY' LAW HARMS LGBTQ+ STUNTS AND TEACHERS
• FLORIDA ADVANC "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL THAT WOULD BAR LGBTQ DISCSNS SCHOOLS
• CHRISTIAN FLORIDA SCHOOL TELLS PARENTS GAY AND TRANSGENR STUNTS MT 'LEAVE IMMEDIATELY'
• FLORIDA STUNTS PARTICIPATE MASSIVE WALKOUT TO PROTT THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

GAY STUNT SAYS FLORIDA SCHOOL IS STOPPG HIS N FOR STUNT LEARSHIP

Ileana Garcia's office after passage of the Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by crics, Miami on March Raedle / Getty Imag fileMay 19, 2022, 2:54 PM UTC / Source: Associated PrsA 17-year-old gay stunt who was spend for leadg protts at his high school agast Florida’s so-lled Don’t Say Gay legislatn says school admistrators are stoppg him om nng for senr class print.

High school grad uldn't say 'gay' speech, so he did this stead. The class print at a Florida high school says he wasn’t allowed to share his experience as a gay stunt his graduatn speech or how the state’s so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” law will affect stunts like him, so he talked about somethg else that mak him a ltle different om his classmat – his curly hair.

A FLORIDA CLASS PRINT ULDN’T DISCS BEG GAY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATN SPEECH – SO HE TALKED ABOUT HIS CURLY HAIR

Moricz me out durg his hman year and was the first openly-gay class print at the school, so he felt a rponsibily to addrs the ntroversy.

"Stori and histori about people like CJ -- a gay, 17-year-old boy -- would not be allowed to be tght classrooms om krgarten to third gra if the legislatn, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, is implemented, limg classroom curriculum on sexual orientatn and genr inty. "They won't know who they are, they won't be able to exprs themselv, " CJ said about stunts classrooms where the lsons are Waln, 17, is jog other high school stunts a letter-wrg mpaign agast the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

"I really thk this sends a msage to stunts, to staff, to our muny, that there is somethg wrong wh beg gay or that is somethg that is too taboo to be discsed and that we are somethg that should be the shadows, " Fenng said. Joe Hardg, who troduced the bill, told ABC News podst "Start Here" that teachers and stunts n still discs sexual orientatn and genr inty their classrooms, there jt n't be a curriculum or lsons on Fenng and other Florida stunts went to the state pal to nont legislators about the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

LGBTQ YOUTH FIGHT BACK AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

Courty CJ WalnActivists have likened the bill to a gag orr or to the “No Promo Homo” laws of the 1990s that barred tors om discsg queer topics the bill would ban lsons ncerng genr or sexual orientatn classrooms om krgarten to third gra, would also not allow them when is age-appropriate or not le wh state standards. "Regardls of whether this bill pass or not, gay kids and trans kids are still gog to be schools, are still gog to be experiencg beg gay and beg trans, " Fenng said.

Moricz said he “strongly believ” the requt was rponse to a newly enacted state law, which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Proponents of the measure have ntend that giv parents more discretn over what their children learn school and say LGBTQ issu are “not age appropriate” for young crics have argued that the law uld stifle teachers and stunts om talkg about their inti or their lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer fay members. ”“The reason somethg like the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law seems like nothg but is actually everythg is that when you nnot talk about or share who you are, there is a nstant subnsc affirmatn that you are not valid, that you should not exist, ” Moricz fight agast the legislatn is personal for Moricz, he add. A relig school Florida says will only refer to stunts by their sex assigned at birth, while pupils who are gay, transgenr or genr nonnformg "will be asked to leave the school immediately.

GAY HIGH SCHOOLER SAYS HE'S 'BEG SILENCED' BY FLORIDA'S LGBTQ LAW

"It ntued: "We believe that any form of homosexualy, lbianism, bisexualy, transgenr inty/liftyle, self-intifitn, btialy, ct, fornitn, adultery and pornography are sful the sight of God and the church (Genis 2:24; Levic 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corthians 5:1; I Corthians 6:9; I Thsalonians 4:2-7). He then nfirmed a school policy do not allow stunts to be homosexual or transgenr and that an email was sent to parents on June 6 remdg them of the policy.

And be transgenr or homosexual. "The email was a factor promptg the fay of a 16-year-old girl, who is gay and was a stunt at the school, to transfer her to another relig school that is more acceptg. " The man asked that his inty be whheld to protect his fay om 18-year-old woman who graduated om the school last year and is gay said there were tim when anti-LGBTQ msag were exprsed durg chapel hours on school days.

She said one day, McKeen "started yellg about how if you're gay you're gog to hell. McKeen, the vio statement, disputed he said gay people are gog to hell. "Josh Bell, executive director of One Orlando Alliance, an LGBTQ nonprof central Florida, was brought up the nservative Uned Methodist Church and was tght homosexualy is wrong, he said.

FLORIDA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SAYS WILL REFER TO STUNTS ONLY BY 'BLOGIL GENR,' ASKS GAY AND TRANSGENR STUNTS TO LEAVE

Bell, who is gay, said a school policy such as the one at Grace Christian School will lead to emotnal trma and uld possibly lead to physil harm for some LGBTQ stunts.

FLORIDA STUNT FDS CLEVER WAY TO SHRED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW IN GRADUATN SPEECH

A Florida high school stunt opted for a hair metaphor after he says faculty members threatened to censor his graduatn speech if he spoke about his LGBTQ activism or experienc as a gay teen. Zanr Moricz, senr class print of Pe View School for the Gifted Osprey, Florida, planned to e his speech on Sunday to cricize the state’s Parental Rights Edutn, or “Don’t Say Gay” law.

So, when Moricz, 18, livered his speech at Pe View’s graduatn ceremony, he shared quips about his curly hair as phemisms for beg gay. He also anized stunt walkouts prott of the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and is named a lawsu agast the state of Florida related to the legislatn.

A new amendment to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill would require schools to rm parents of their children’s sexual orientatn wh six weeks of learng the stunt isn’t straight, NBC affiliate WFLA reported on Monday.

AMENDMENT TO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL FLORIDA REQUIR SCHOOLS TO OUT STUNTS TO THEIR PARENTS WH SIX WEEKS

It has been universally nmned by gay rights groups, as well as the Whe Hoe. Stunt Who Led Don't Say Gay Prott Can't Run for Class PrintThe Florida stunt who was spend for leadg a prott agast the state’s new "don’t say gay" law at his high school now says the school is preventg him om nng for class Petocz, 17, said school thori at Flagler Palm Coast High School are sayg the disciplary actns he received for leadg those protts now preclu him om nng for any stunt body office.

“My name is Jack Petocz, and I am a 17-year-old gay stunt activist Flagler County, ” Petocz posted to social media, tailg his efforts anizg over 500 stunts the protts.

Tertiary tn Florida is makg way for s lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and qutng stunts.

GAY FLORIDA STUNT WHO LED PROTT CAN'T RUN FOR CLASS PRINT

In addn, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and qutng stunts n also requt an LGBT roommate through the school’s matchg system. As part of the 1969 People’s Coaln for Gay Rights, the Pri Stunt Unn has played an sential role fightg for stunt equaly. We work to empower LGBTQ+ stunt lears and ambassadors as change agents on mp and the muny, regnizg that sexual inty and genr inty and exprsn work through and are fluenced by race, ethnicy, culture, age, disabily, class, fah, and other social characteristics, we offer support and tnal programmg that rporate prcipl of social jtice to rce heterosexism, genrism, homophobia, and transphobia all of their forms on the UF mp and beyond.

You n terme a school’s clivy by lookg at the factors:The Camp Pri InxThe Camp Pri Inx is a benchmarkg tool for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and qutng stunts to disver clive mp. But isn’t enough that they promise to provi an affirmg and welg space for lbian, gay, bisexual, and qutng stunts. The Bottom LeIf you’re a lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr stunt lookg to study Florida, you’re luck.

But Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn act — which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — has sudnly sparked a natnal war of recent weeks, lears of global rporatns, edorial boards of major newspapers and Hollywood actors have all weighed on the proposed legislatn, wh some llg “eply disturbg” and others “nonntroversial.

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

” Conversely, opponents say would unfairly target the LGBTQ muny — particularly gay and trans stunts — and is “pretendg to solve a problem that don’t exist.

For starters, cricism that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill do not fact say “gay” anywhere s text is te. The bill, which passed Florida’s Senate last week and the state’s Hoe of Reprentativ Febary, do, however, nta the terms “sexual orientatn” and “genr inty, ” each legal experts say that whether the bill prohibs the word “gay” self is a “distractn. “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ moniker is a moniker about a certa polil amg of this suatn.

”Beyond brandg, a re argument over the bill centers around whether would prohib the “stctn” or “discsn” of sexual bill’s sponsors have emphatilly stated that the bill would not prohib stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 adly attack on the Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando.

AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS

As Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law — or what crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law — go to effect Friday, some of the state’s public school districts have begun rollg out new polici to lim LGBTQ issu and inti om beg discsed the Tuday night, the Leon County School Board unanimoly approved s “LGBTQ Inclive School Gui, ” which clus a provisn to alert parents if a stunt who is “open about their genr inty” is their child’s physil tn class or wh them on an overnight school trip. Clifford / AP fileThe so-lled Don’t Say Gay law, HB 1557, bans “stctn” about sexual orientatn or genr inty “ krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards.

FLORIDA STUNTS STAGE SCHOOL WALKOUTS OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

” A provisn the law also requir school staff members to alert parents about “cril cisns affectg a stunt’s mental, emotnal, or physil health or well-beg, ” which many advot have terpreted as a way to force tors to out their gay or trans stunts. They have also ntend that will not prohib teachers and stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 attack at the Pulse gay nightclub crics and legal experts have said the broad language of the law uld open school districts and teachers to lawsus om parents who believe any nversatn about LGBTQ people or issu is “not age appropriate. Carlos Smh, a Democrat who is gay and has been an outspoken cric of the new law, said he was “not surprised” that schools the state were announcg the polici and guil.

HOW FLORIDA'S 'DON’T SAY GAY' LAW HARMS LGBTQ+ STUNTS AND TEACHERS

“What’s happeng right now — wh the censorship of rabow flags and school districts preparg to basilly ph LGBTQ stunts and teachers to the closet — is exactly what we said would happen wh the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.

"Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny at the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Fla., on March 13. Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Imag fileFive other stat — all of them the South — have enacted laws that lim stctn or discsns about LGBTQ people or issu school, and at least 32 others have proposed such measur this year, acrdg to acrdg to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ thk tank that has been trackg the strsed that the polici will have nsequenc for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer stunts, potg to the disproportnately high rat of suici attempts among the untry’s LGBTQ youths. ”In Palm Beach County, Woods, who is gay, said that after they received the qutnnaire om school officials to flag urse material or books wh LGBTQ referenc, many of his lleagu are nervo they’ll be reprimand if they miss somethg.

FLORIDA ADVANC "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL THAT WOULD BAR LGBTQ DISCSNS SCHOOLS

Stunts across Florida staged school walkouts rponse to legislatn — dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill — that would prohib discsg sexual orientatn and genr inty the state’s primary schools. Stunts wavg rabow picket signs and shoutg “We say gay!

"I believe this attempt to threaten me and remove me om mp is riddled wh homophobia and bigotry, " said Petocz, who is gay.

CHRISTIAN FLORIDA SCHOOL TELLS PARENTS GAY AND TRANSGENR STUNTS MT 'LEAVE IMMEDIATELY'

"You’re silencg a queer stunt standg up for what he believ , his rights, and you’re disciplg him for challengg you on the allowance of pri flags a gay rally? Hillsborough High School stunts prott the "Don't Say Gay" bill Thursday Tampa, Fla. The measure’s opponents ntend that the bill would be trimental to the mental health of the state’s LGBTQ children and teachers, preventg them om openly talkg about themselv and their Joe Hardg, the Republin who troduced the bill January, has repeatedly said the bill would not prohib stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 attack on the Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando.

"So I feel like should be tght schools bee will help other people jt like me know that 's OK to be gay.

Petersburg, Gibbs High School, is draped wh rabow flags, Gay Straight Alliance club posters "everywhere" and other LGBTQ-affirmg symbols. A few stat are nsirg passg a siar legislatn based on the "Don't Say Gay" law.

FLORIDA STUNTS PARTICIPATE MASSIVE WALKOUT TO PROTT THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

Crics have labeled the legislatn as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, sayg lims eedom of exprsn and harms LGBTQ+ stunts and teachers. Acrdg to 2019 data om the Centers for Disease Control and Preventn on Florida high schoolers prr to the implementatn of the “Don’t Say Gay” law, stunts who intified as gay, lbian, or bisexual were already substantially more likely to attempt suici, at 20.

Is 'Don’t Say Gay' Constutnal? Texas joed the list on Monday, wh Litenant Governor Dan Patrick sayg he will make passg “Don’t Say Gay”-style legislatn a top prry the next state legislative ssn, the Texas Tribute reported. A Florida high school stunt who is openly gay is speakg out after he says he was subjected to censorship by school officials if he mentned the state’s “Parental Rights Edutn” law, also lled the “Don’t Say Gay” law by crics, his graduatn Moricz, a senr and the print of his graduatg class at Pe View School Osprey, Florida, claimed he was beg “silenced” a Twter thread two weeks ago.

”Moricz is also one of the youngt platiffs a lawsu filed agast the state of Florida over the “Parental Rights Edutn” 18-year-old told "Good Morng Ameri" he was worried ahead of the speech but felt supported by his fellow classmat and peers, some of whom wore “Say Gay” stickers and stood up and cheered durg his speech Sunday.