Florida Teen "Investigated" for Presentation on Stonewall Riots

[Nevilledog]

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Randy Shulman 🏳️?🌈 🇺🇦
@RandyShulman
A Florida teen was placed under “investigation” after giving a presentation on the Stonewall Riots to his history class, pretty much proving the point of the "Don't Say Gay" laws. Proud of you, @ProudTwinkie.

metroweekly.com
Florida Teen "Investigated" for Presentation on Stonewall Riots - Metro Weekly
A Florida student has been "investigated" and moved to a different history class after giving a presentation on the Stonewall Riots.
5:06 AM · Apr 13, 2022

https://www.metroweekly.com/2022/04/florida-teen-investigated-for-presentation-on-stonewall-riots/

A Florida teen was placed under “investigation” and moved to another class five weeks before the end of the school year after giving a presentation on the Stonewall Riots to his history class.

Will Larkins, a 17-year-old junior at Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, presented the lesson on the riots to their history class on March 31 while wearing a red cocktail dress and pearls. They asked a classmate to film the presentation to post a video to Twitter later.

Larkins, who uses “they/him” pronouns, is the founder of Winter Park High’s Queer Student Union and one of the chief organizers behind a student walkout to protest Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Larkins has been outspoken about the legislation, testifying against the bill in Tallahassee and writing an opinion piece for The New York Times about the legislation’s negative effects on LGBTQ youth, who will no longer view schools as a “safe space” where they can express their feelings openly.

*snip*

[CurtEastPoint]

1. kudos to this brave kid.

[SoonerPride]

2. but I coulda sworn the right wingers said it only applied to kids up to 3rd grade

you mean they were lying??

surely not!

[sop]

3. Investigated for what?

Let them say it.

[LastDemocratInSC]

6. For being alive and true to himself.

[walkingman]

4. That's a hoot - I wish we could have been as open in my HS days (64-68).

[LonePirate]

5. This is remarkable. That's the type of activism we need in this country.

[SunSeeker]

7. Damn. I wish Will Larkin was governor of Florida.

The world would be a better place.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. "Guv'nor, not all the kids are taking the medicine. What will we do?"

"Put more fire on the cauldron. We may have to boil some in oil."

[ck4829]

9. "Investigated" - tyranny has a new verb

[Jilly_in_VA]

10. Holy shit

If you had any doubt that FloriDUH was a fascist state, let that doubt be expunged from your mind right now. Next thing you know, they will be making gay people wear pink triangles.

[vlyons]

11. well so much for freedom of speech

Bravo young man

[kacekwl]

12. Investigated by who ?

Whom ? Secret special police ?

[trickyguy]

13. This is very sad news but congratulations to Will Larkins for speaking out

about the reality of gay history. Stonewall really happened.
And it was the turning point for much of the LGBT movement that
happened afterwards. Both political and cultural.

I live in Wisconsin and in 2020 I was invited to speak to the
Gay-Straight Alliance at our local Baraboo High School.

The title of my presentation was
"After Stonewall: A Lifetime of gay activism" - I got involved
in gay politics after a Gay Lib meeting in Chicago in 1969.

It was well received and I ended up speaking to four other
gay groups in my state with the same presentation.'

This whole "Dont Say Gay" business is very upsetting but I have much
admiration for Will and his being an activist for the LGBT community.
Keep speaking out.

[MustLoveBeagles]

15. Good for him

He's very brave to do this.

[Jimvanhise]

16. Like in the 1950s?

In the 1950s people were investigated for possibly being communists. If everything he said in his presentation was true, is he being investigated because his talk made someone "uncomfortable"? Is that really the image Florida wants to present, thereby proving that the critics of the law are telling the truth about its intent?

[Solly Mack]

17. K&R

[modrepub]

18. Good Trouble

I believe politicians and other authoritarian types woefully under estimate other folks BS-meters. I predict they'll be more of these types of protests in the future.