Arizona students walk out over anti-LGBTQ bills, demand action from lawmakers and schools
For the second year in a row, Arizona Republicans have sought to restrict the behavior of LGBTQ students, and for the second year in a row, students across the state walked out of class to protest that hostility.
On Friday, students at eight Arizona schools gathered to express their support for LGBTQ youth on the national Day of Silence, held to acknowledge the erasure of LGBTQ people. At Chandler High School, dozens marched to nearby Dr. A.J Chandler Park, where they discussed their fears and called on schools to implement better safety measures and more inclusive policies.
Tamaiah Briggs denounced Republicans lawmakers and others who make students feel unwelcome in school.
“Every student has the right to feel safe in the space where they go to learn,” the 15-year-old said. “Arizona legislators, teachers and administrators: you have a duty to make your students feel safe.”
That concern has been a key focus of Support Equality Arizona Schools, the student group that organized the walkout and has led other demonstrations to call out discriminatory laws. The group was launched last year as a response to anti-LGBTQ laws approved by Doug Ducey’s administration, including one that now prohibits trans girls from joining school sports teams that best match their gender identity and another that initially sought to ban LGBTQ books.
https://www.azmirror.com/2023/04/14/arizona-students-walk-out-over-anti-lgbtq-bills-demand-action-from-lawmakers-and-schools/
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