New Orleans, LA – On Friday, March 31, close to 300 students at Benjamin Franklin High School walked out of school during last period. They demanded a stop to bills in the Louisiana legislature that target LGBTQ kids. Students gathered on the school’s front lawn to hear speeches by their trans classmates. The event coincided with national Trans Day of Visibility.

Students chanted “These bills kill!” and “We say gay!”

“Conservatives are not trying to protect children, they just say that to justify what they are doing. Conservatives just want something that will distract people from how they do not better society,” said Frankie Ratowitz, an organizer of the walkout.

Even though legislators are limited to five non-fiscal bills each this year, the legislature is considering a record number of anti-LGBTQ attacks. Five bills relate to banning sex education and LGBTQ-themed books (SB 7, HB 102, HB 25, HB 360, and HB 77). One threatens to ban teachers from using correct names and pronouns (HB 81). A “Don’t Say Gay” bill attempts to prohibit discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in school (HB 466). Lastly, HB 463 attempts to ban trans kids from receiving medical care.

“Even though the bills are terrifying, I think the trans community is still strong even now, and we are ready to band together to fight in protests, walkouts and phone zaps like we’ve done for so many years,” said Grayson Swearingen, an LGBTQ student leader.

#NewOrleansLA #PeoplesStruggles #TransDayOfVisibility #DontSayGayBill

Seattle, WA – On November 18, the University of Washington’s Progressive Student Union (PSU) held a banner drop in protest of the national “Don’t Say Gay” bill, introduced by Congressional Republicans last month. Officially titled the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act of 2022,” this is a national version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year. The D.C. bill prohibits the use of federal funds for any topic or program related to sex education in schools. It also prohibits access of library books with LGBTQ topics to children.

Raymond Chen of PSU said, “This bill is a shameless exploitation of LGBTQ people in education, medical care and legal aid. This rally promoted the unreasonableness of this bill and has taken a solid step in promoting our reputation.”

PSU’s march and banner drop against this bill took place in the middle of campus during classes. Energized students chanted “Two, four, six, eight – separate the church and state!” and “What do we do when trans rights are under attack? Stand up, fight back!”

#SeattleWA #PeoplesStruggles #DontSayGayBill

Austin, TX – On Tuesday evening, November 1, a small group of students from the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter gathered in front of the Perry Castañeda Library at University of Texas at Austin campus to protest against the national “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The protest was organized as a part of the SDS national week of action against the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act (commonly referred to as the national “Don’t Say Gay” Bill), which was introduced by Republicans in October. The bill would prevent teachers from discussing LGBTQ topics and issues in their classrooms, essentially turning Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill into national law. Students are calling for a stop to this bill and all homophobic and transphobic attacks.

Jake Holtzman of Austin SDS said, “Especially since the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year, Republicans are positioned to launch many other attacks against people’s rights, including the right to same-sex marriage, contraception, and now, with the ‘Don’t Say Gay bill,’ the right to teach about LGBTQ related topics in our schools. We need to protest and organize against these attacks now, because the only way we can stop them is through organizing!”

A few other SDS members spoke and led the group in chants, including, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, GOP, go away!” and “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

#AustinTX #antiLGBTQLegislation #DontSayGayBill

Tampa, FL – On November 15, 20 students, led by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, gathered in front of the University of South Florida Library in a show of protest against HR 9197, the national Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, more commonly known as the “Don't Say Gay” bill.

This bill aims to ban public funding for and impose penalties on schools and entities that promote events and literature about gender identity, LGBTQ+ issues, sexuality, gender dysphoria, trans people, and the history of the gay or trans movements for children below the age of ten. Following the example of the Don't Say Gay bill that passed in Florida, it also opens the door for parents to sue schools and educators who they feel expose their children to material friendly to LGBTQ+ people.

This attack on the few such educational programs that exist has outraged many student activists, leading to a national week of action against the bill by over a dozen SDS chapters around the country.

“The 'Don't Say Gay' bill is a major setback for LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance,” Jaden Patel of Tampa Bay SDS said. “It only further stigmatizes already marginalized groups and will harm LGBTQ+ children. One of the clauses allows parents to refuse LGBTQ+ related help or services offered to their child, and such services could be potentially lifesaving. I think it was very important for SDS to speak out against this bill as it is just the beginning. The bill only pertains to students under ten, but it's not hard to believe that it could be extended to all of K-12. Other LGTBQ+ rights are being stripped as well, such as trans healthcare being banned for minors. We must oppose all of these setbacks, and hold our ground!”

The student protesters carried signs that read, “Stop homophobic and transphobic attacks!” and “Protect gay youth!” They chanted, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, GOP, go away!” over and over again across the library green. In vibrant rainbow colors, on more than one sign, students proudly painted the words: “We say gay!”

“This bill is also calling for erasure of the LGBTQ+ community by the omission of LGBTQ+ history and suppression of LGBTQ+ people’s existence,” said Vaidehi Persad, a member of SDS. “But these are our streets and our schools! These are publicly funded spaces meant to serve us and our best interests. We all deserve to feel safe, respected and affirmed here at school.”

#TampaFL #antiLGBTQLegislation #DontSayGayBill

Baton Rouge, LA – On May 3, the Louisiana House of Representatives Education Committee struck down this state’s version of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by a seven to four vote. This decision came after a mass upsurge of students, parents, teachers, social workers and LGBTQ+ community members demanding to shut the bill down.

HB 837, the “Don’t Say Gay” or “Classroom censorship” bill, attempted to prohibit all discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in K-8 classrooms. On top of this, it was an effort to ban teachers from disclosing their gender identities or sexual orientations to students.

Once a legislator introduces a bill in either chamber of the legislature (House or Senate), it must meet the approval of a legislative committee before going for a full floor vote. The committee hearing is the first chance that opponents of the bill have to kill it.

At the hearing, after five or six conservative leaders testified in favor of the bill, dozens of LGBT+ activists and their allies went on to denounce it.

Students put up a tremendous fight. Quest Riggs of Real Name Campaign read aloud a letter that over 60 middle school students put together: “Students feel safe talking to social workers at school, especially when they can't talk to someone at home. This bill could lead to students not having a safe space at school.”

The Reverend Cheramie of the Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans made the point, “We are dangerously close to the 1970s effort to prevent homosexuals from being teachers.” Sam King, a school social worker, underscored how “exclusionary and discriminatory legislation such as HB387 put marginalized youth at greater risk for mental health issues and suicide. The supporters of this bill say that they are advocating to protect children when in fact they are putting LGBTQ+ children directly in harm's way.”

Dodie Horton, the politician who introduced the bill, could hardly answer questions about her own legislation. When the committee representatives asked her what the bill’s implications would be for a teacher introducing themselves as “Mr.” or “Ms.” (which indicate gender identity), Horton responded: “No, that’s not gender identity, gender identity is, you know, if I say I’m a man one day and then the next day I’m a woman.” Many critics have accused the Don’t Say Gay bill of using “gender identity” as a dog-whistle for anti-LGBT+ bigotry, but Horton openly admitted that this was the case.

“She can’t defend her bill because she didn’t even write it,” one online observer noted. HB 837 was a copycat of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill, which itself came from the boardrooms of billionaire-backed far-right organizations.

Tuesday’s showing of overwhelming opposition came out of weeks of mass mobilizing. Students walked out of several schools, and hundreds of people blocked busy downtown intersections during a protest for Trans Day of Visibility. Two critical swing votes on the committee, Representatives Freiberg and Hilferty, saw their voicemails and inboxes flooded with hundreds of messages. The week before the hearing, protesters showed up at both of their offices to leave signs and a letter condemning HB 837. Both voted no.

Organizations coming out against the bill included United Teachers of New Orleans, the Louisiana Association of Social Workers, Real Name Campaign, Forum for Equality, the Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedoms, the Crescent Care Transgender Advisory Committee, Women With a Vision, the Louisiana Transgender Advocates, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, among others.

#BatonRougeLA #PeoplesStruggles #Louisiana #DontSayGayBill