CNN
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According to strike organizer and high school student Will, more than 500 students attended a major strike on Monday at Winter Park High School in Orange County, Florida, which is currently under consideration by the state legislature. Protested the’tSayGay’bill. Larkins.
The Parent Rights Bill in Education, HB 1557, will effectively prohibit teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom for young students. LGBTQ supporters say the measure will lead to further stigma of gay, lesbian and transgender children, further causing bullying and suicide within the already marginalized communities.
The strike was hosted by Juniors Will Larkins and Maddy Zorneck. Several students left class at 9 am Eastern Standard Time to protest the bill. During the strike, the students were chanting, “We say we are gay!” We have a sign that says “Protect transgender children”.
The Winter Park High strike was not the first protest among Florida students. Several high schools across Florida also held strikes on Thursday and Friday in protest of HB1557.
“We wanted to show the government that this wouldn’t stop. There was a strike all the time last week. This will continue. If this goes through, there will be protests everywhere,” Larkins said on CNN. Told to. “We wanted to get the attention of our representatives, the Senators, because it is important to show them that we are in power. People are in power, What they are doing is not representative of us, especially the marginalized groups. ”
Larkins also testified to the bill last week in front of the Florida Senate Expenditure Committee.
The bill passed the Florida House of Representatives in February with 69-47 votes. The Republican-controlled Senate has submitted a bill this week and may be ready for a final vote on Tuesday.
In a Senate debate on Monday, Republican Senator Dennis Baxley, who sponsors the bill, said concerns that children were “experimenting” their sexual orientation were part of the bill’s motives. Stated.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed support for the bill. If approved by the Florida Senate and signed by DeSantis, HB1557 will come into effect in July.