Florida has released in the last few hours the law popularly known as “Don’t Say Gay”a rule that vetoes all content to be viewed in gender identity or sexual orientation in the classrooms.
Neither teachers nor students will be able to talk about it and the authorities encourage families to denounce whoever does. Activists already fear the possible consequences. “We are extremely concerned, we have already seen the repercussions, even since the bill was passed,” says Max Fenning, co-founder of the NGO Prism.
The ultra-conservative Governor of Florida, the Republican Ron DeSantis, signed the bill last March, arguing for the right of parents to choose what they teach their children. “Parents have the right to send their children to school to learn, not to be indoctrinated“.
This has led to more than striking episodes such as the Zander Moricz, 18, a young gay activist who was to give his class’s end-of-year speech. The director of the institute called him to his office before to warn him: he could not talk about LGTBI rights or they would turn off his microphone.
So he decided to talk about his curly hair. “As you know, I have curly hair. I used to hate my curls. I spent mornings and nights being ashamed of themdesperately trying to ‘straighten’ that part of me,” he says in his speech. “So, since having curly hair in florida is hard because of the humidity, I decided to be proud of who I am. It was my friends who told me that this style flattered me and that I should stop hiding it,” he continues.
The White House wants to protect students and professors like him. They will not allow, they say, that there is discrimination in Florida.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
