Recently in this country, there has been a culture war trying to go against the LGBTQ+ community. Different states, especially Republican ones, have been trying to extremely limit and discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, with different laws like transgender sports bans, transgender healthcare bans, LGBTQ+ healthcare bans, and some of the most recent things being the Don’t Say Gay Laws. It started during the fall of last year when the governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, announced a new law in Florida called the Don’t Say Gay Law. Its goal was to try to keep schools in Florida from teaching about LGBTQ+ issues or letting the students talk about LGBTQ+ issues, which is slightly problematic if a student has a same-sex couple as their parents because, under this law, they could not talk about their parents in a classroom setting. Also, under this law, it says that if a student comes out to a teacher in confidence, then the teacher must immediately alert the child’s parents, which is absolutely awful because that kid might not be safe at home if they are outed.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, this law sickens me to my core. This is the United States of America. We are supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. I do not think that it is free to make kids have to suppress their true selves just to make others feel comfortable. If you want to talk about the home of the brave, just look at these students that are standing up against this. They know that if they come out and be their true selves, they will be bullied and mistreated. But a lot of them do it anyway because they want to be themselves. What kind of example are we setting for our kids by telling them they need to be themselves and they can be whatever you want to be as long as it does not make me feel uncomfortable? I mean, it is ridiculous!
People who are trying to pass these laws are saying that the topic of LGBTQ+ people is too inappropriate for kids to learn about. But that is not true because we let our kids watch movies like Aladdin, where there is plenty of kissing. They just don’t want kids to learn about LGBTQ+ people. In the Florida law, there was a cap that left this in place till around 3rd grade, but new laws are coming out that are even worse. Missouri is trying to pass a law that does not have that grade cap so that it could go on for even longer than just 3rd grade. Just the other day, Indiana tried to pass their own version of a Don’t Say Gay Law. More and more states are trying to pass these awful laws. It is just a matter of time before a law like this comes to Virginia. A law like this has already been discussed in my home state of Pennsylvania. Thankfully the governor, I do not think, would support something like that.
Laws like this are not just wrong, but they are dangerous to people who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The Trevor Project found that LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely than straight youth to commit suicide, and laws like that just make it worse. Having teachers out of students and being unable to be yourself is not a way to live. So I implore all of you that are reading this if a law like this comes to your area, oppose it, call your representatives, and ask them to vote against it.