Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill may have officially been signed into law by far-right Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, but one LGBTQ+ high schooler is not taking it sitting down. They're "saying gay anyway," over and over and over again.
Will Larkins, a gay and nonbinary high school junior in Winter Park, Florida decided to fight the law by giving a presentation to their U.S. History class about the LGBTQ+ history--a presentation that could now be construed as illegal in the state.
Larkins told their class about the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a watershed in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, and video of the talk is now going viral.
See their presentation below.
Larkins gave their Twitter post a poignant caption that says it all:
"LGBTQ American history is not taught in Florida's public schools, so I took it upon myself to explain the events of the Stonewall Uprising to my 4th period US history class."
They then hashtagged the post with #SayGayAnyway.
The Florida legislation, called the Parental Rights in Education bill, has become known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill because it prohibits discussion and instruction of gender and sexuality in kindergarten through third grade "or in a manner that is not age...or developmentally appropriate."
But since neither "discussion," "instruction," nor "age...or developmentally appropriate" are defined in the bill, its vague wording opens even children to lawsuits should they mention their same-sex parents, for example.
The bill also requires school staff members to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents, and allows parents to file lawsuits without having to prove the bill's rules were even violated, among myriad other dystopically dangerous provisions.
Nevertheless, advocates of the bill insist its purpose is to protect children from groomers and pedophiles—a thinly veiled dog-whistle to adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, who believe the Democratic Party and U.S. government are run by Satan-worshiping pedophiles.
Even Larkins has been subjected to this unhinged, homophobic and transphobic hysteria. As they addressed in a follow-up tweet, conservatives accused them—a child themself—of being a pedophile because of their Stonewall presentation.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Larkins described a climate in their school that makes it easy to see why the legislation easily passed in the state. Larkins' U.S. history teacher had never even heard of the Stonewall Uprising, let alone their fellow students.
On Twitter, many praised Larkins for bravely and outspokenly refusing to be beholden to the new legislation.
Larkins' lesson on Stonewall is just the latest way they've opposed the new legislation, having previously written an op-ed about it to The New York Times, testifying before the Florida state Senate and organizing a school walk-out.
