Students Protest ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
Students protest the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill on March 30. Irelind Brammann/Eagle Talon
Critiques on all sides of what could’ve been done better pour out.
In the state of Florida, the Parental Rights in Education bill, more infamously known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, has been receiving a lot of heat recently, with multiple leads of misinformation fueling both sides of the debate. The release of this bill has led to protests organized by LGBTQ+ youth, including school walkouts. Organized by a few underclassmen, Paxon had a walkout of its own on March 30 at the school's football field during the entirety of the third period.
Nearly 70 students participated in the walkout, even getting the attention of local news. Although, a few of the students did believe things could’ve gone better.
“The point of a protest isn't just to protest, it's to educate,” junior Brooklyn Russell said. “It was unorganized in the aspect of it was just screaming chants. Someone should've gotten up to speak about our reason to protest and what that bill was.”
The local news did interview some of the organizers of the protest, but their choice of wording was vague enough to lead commenters to claim that no one read the bill and students should just “go back to class”.
Although heavily implied throughout, the bill never directly says “don’t say gay”. It discusses new restrictions upon the schools of Florida with what many argue are homophobic undertones.
“When you talk to people that don’t respect you, you can’t be vague, or they’ll think you don’t know what you're talking about and will try to find holes in your argument,” Russell added.
STUDENTS WALK OUT | Dozens of students at Paxon School for Advanced Studies walked out of class in protest of the recently signed Parental Rights in Education bill which critics have branded the "Don't Say Gay" bill. #News4JAX @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/f14jDTqpFp
— Joe McLean (@JoeMcLeanNews) March 30, 2022
After the walkout, local news posted the story on social media. Comments on the post were flooded by supporters of the bill, claiming that the younger generation is blind and unaware of what the bill is really for. Many of the students went to the post to argue and explain their perspective on the bill to no avail. The debates surrounding the controversial bill are not ending any time soon, and the students of Florida opposing the bill don’t plan on having their voices silenced.
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Paxon students participate in walkout to protest Parental Rights in Education law