Hundreds of Students Leading the ‘We Say Gay’ Walkout in Iowa
Last Wednesday, hundreds of Iowa students walked out of their schools as part of a “We Say Gay” protest in response to recent the state’s recent anti-LGBTQ legislative proposals.
Iowa WTF partnered up with the Iowa Queer Student Alliance to organize the walkout. Over 45 schools participated in the walkout according to the Des Moines Register. The demonstration was in protest of the 29+ anti-LGBTQ bills which have been introduced in the state’s legislative session this past year.
Iowa WTF states these bills are “hateful, oppressive, and un-patriotic legislation that serves to diminish the freedom of all Iowans.”
WALKOUT Wednesday March 1st organized by students for students. We will not let this discriminatory legislation stand. pic.twitter.com/mTS1XJ8H2g
— IowaWTF (@iowa_wtf) February 25, 2023
One member of the Iowa Queer Student Alliance and a student at Ankeny High School, Jemma Bullock, says the walkouts “are trying to make it so that it’s impossible for those in power to ignore us.”
“Because right now, there are people who are going to the Capitol and attending those public hearings about these bills—They have been teachers, psychiatrists, doctors, students, parents, administrators, all sorts of people who come and say, ‘This is harmful. This will have bad effects. This will cause bullying; it will cause depression and anxiety, and it will not be safe for the LGBTQ+ community in our schools,’” Bullock says. “And they just will not listen.”
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Students at East High School in Iowa’s capital city marched their procession before the Capitol building. Elsewhere in Des Moines, 400 students led their protest in front of Governor’s mansion. Protesters chanted “we say gay” while brandishing pride flags and raising protest signs.
This protest takes place one day after Republicans introduced a ban on transition-related care for trans youth, in addition to a bill that will prohibit trans students from using the restrooms which align with their gender. Iowa is one of dozens of states pushing anti-LGBTQ legislation, and according to one legislation tracking database, over 400 similar bills have been introduced across the country.
Photo Credit: @AHSneedle on Twitter
