Invited to deliver a speech at a graduation ceremony at Pine View School in Osprey, Florida (USA), LGBTQIA+ student and activist Zander Moricz says he was advised by the school’s principal that he could not speak about his activism, nor use the word “gay”. Otherwise, he would have his microphone cut off.
Moricz is one of Florida citizens trying to overturn a new law that restricts what teachers can talk about in classrooms about sexual orientation and gender identity.
In his commencement speech on the 22nd, Moricz did not mention the word “gay”. But he was able to say who he is and why he champions the LGBT cause. And he used his curly hair to say what he wanted.
“I used to hate my curls,” Moricz said. “I spent days and nights in shame, trying to straighten out that part of who I am, but the daily damage of trying to fix myself became too much to bear,” he added. “So even though curly hair in Florida is difficult due to the humidity, I decided to be proud of who I am and started going to school being myself.”
Contacted by The Washington Post for comment, Pine View School principal Steve Covert did not respond to the paper.
Dubbed by critics “Don’t Say Gay,” the bill was signed into law on March 28 by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The law, which goes into effect on July 1, prohibits teachers from kindergarten through 3rd grade from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom and restricts what teachers in later classes can say.
