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Students around the nation are pushing back on Republican attacks on LGBTQ+ rights. They’ve stood up for teachers and coaches, walked out en masse, and this week, a Missouri university reopened a student resource center after students protested.
But high schoolers in Iowa are taking a different approach to defy the state’s laws. They’ve heckled the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ governor, and instead of relying on teachers and faculty for support, they’re providing it themselves.
The state also has a law that prohibits people from using school bathrooms that don’t correspond with the gender that a person was assigned at birth.
Another law requires school administrators to notify parents if their child requests to be called by another name or request accommodations for their gender identity. The law also bans books that include “depictions of sex acts,” no matter how vague or the overall content of the book. Like a similar law in Florida, it forbids teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Teachers have to follow the law. We don’t,” senior Brett Giltner said. “We can always be there to support our students when our teachers potentially can’t, even though they want to. So that’s the nice thing about having a GSA (gay-straight alliance) at the school and having a pretty decent-sized GSA.”
“It’s something we can do to show legislators and our state that we’re here. We’re not going to listen to your rules.”
The students have organized social events celebrating the queer community and support sessions for each other.
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