Courtney Balcombe

Creative Editor

clb6264@psu.edu

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill is the first of many similar bills meant to restrict the subject of LGBTQ+ people and their issues. While the bill was originally introduced in January, a Florida committee advanced it through their legislature this month.

According to The Hill, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten condemned the bill as hateful and dangerous; actress Kerry Washington said she was “horrified by what’s happening;” and activists say the law would effectively “erase young LGBTQ students across Florida.”

This bill has become somewhat of a trend throughout the U.S., following Florida’s bill there are 15 similar bills moving through other state legislatures that restrict how textbooks and curriculums teach LGBTQ+ topics, who can be hired and what teachers are allowed to say around gender identity and sexual orientation.

“Don’t Say Gay” would also require school personnel to notify parents of changes in a student’s physical, mental, or emotional health. It would significantly limit the ability of counselors and teachers to be a confidential resource for students, including LGBT students who may not feel safe or comfortable asking questions about sexual orientation or gender identity to family members.

This bill not only hurts current and future members of the LGBTQ+ community, but also prevents other people from learning how to be respectful to those in the community. Many people already do not respect those in the community which makes it harder for people to come out as part of this ever growing community.

Even some Florida residents advocate worry that the passage of legislation like “Don’t Say Gay” will come at the expense of LGBTQ+ youth in particular, who are already at greater risk of mental health issues, self-harm and suicide.

According to The Trevor Project, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people, with LGBTQ+ youth being 4 times more likely to seriously consider suicide, to make a plan for suicide and to attempt suicide than their peers.

Their research found that overall, more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 13 and 24 in the U.S. seriously consider suicide each year. They then estimated that at least 1.2 million LGBTQ+ youth aged 13 to 18 in the U.S. seriously consider suicide each year.

Most research only shows how many students consider suicide, not how many attempt or even complete their attempts. Without the support of speaking with someone at school when their family does not support them as LGBTQ+, the rates for consideration, attempts, and completion could drastically go up. There is already so much hate toward the LGBTQ+ community, and has been for many years. It wasn’t until much later in the 2000s and early 2010s when people began to recognize LGBTQ+ individuals, let alone support them.

These new bills are sending the U.S. backwards in more ways than one. The “Don’t Say Gay” bill just shows more discrimination against a whole community that has already faced discrimination in getting where they are. However, this also opens a whole new generation of LGBTQ+ to discrimination they may have not faced before, along with not receiving the same kind of guidance from schools that some may have had before this bill.