Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents, into law on March 28. The bill bars all public school teachers in the state from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation in primary school classrooms. If a teacher violates the law, it gives parents of the students in the class the right to sue the school district. According to The Associated Press, not only do parents now have the power to sue the school district, but under the new law they have the right to be notified if a student is given any health or support services by the school regarding sexuality or gender identity, and are able to deny that care on the students’ behalf.
The proponents of the bill argue that it gives parents control over when and how their children learn about these complex topics. They argue that they’re making school a safer place, but I have to ask: Who are they making it safer for? Because it’s not the students.
Not talking about LGBTQ+ history, gender identity and topics parallel won’t make kids any less gay. It will only shut them off from their support systems, potentially rob them of life-saving mental and physical health services and cut them off from learning about a culture that has shaped American history.
Speaking for myself, it wasn’t until I left a private religious school and attended a public school that made space to discuss LGBTQ+ topics in a positive light where I felt safe to start viewing my own sexual orientation and gender identity in the same way. Even when I started exploring my sexual orientation, I only talked about it with my friends, who I primarily saw at school. Without the support I received both from my school and my friends, I would never have been able to truly accept myself.
According to studies performed by The Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youth face higher rates of suicide and self-harm than their peers. Additional studies found that when those students are given access to spaces where they feel safe being themselves and discussing their sexual orientation and gender identities, suicide attempts were reported at a much lower rate. Choosing instead to shush those conversations between peers and removing the support students receive from teachers and faculty–adults who they look up to and spend most of their days with–is extremely detrimental and puts countless LGBTQ+ youth at risk.
The bill doesn’t support students. It doesn’t make their life easier–it makes it much harder, actually–it only eases the minds of selfish parents. If you are not ready to love your child no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation, you should not have a child. If you want to protect the next generation of children, you should be actively fighting against this law.
