Hundreds of Iowa students took part in a school walkout Wednesday to protest a slew of proposed state legislation that they say discriminates against LGBTQ students.
\nStudents from 26 high schools and two colleges coordinated the walkouts to take place throughout the day across the state.
\nIowaWTF, a coalition of high school students that fights \u201cdiscriminatory legislation,\u201d and the Iowa Queer Student Alliance, a group for LGBTQ high school and college students, organized the day of protests.
\nJemma Bullock, a member of the Iowa QSA, said the group is leading walkouts for two reasons: to educate students about the bills under consideration in the state Legislature and to get the attention of the lawmakers behind those bills.
\n\u201cWe are trying to make it so that it\u2019s impossible for those in power to ignore us,\u201d said Bullock, who is a senior at Ankeny High School, just north of Des Moines. \u201cBecause right now, there are people who are going to the Capitol and attending those public hearings about these bills \u2014 they have been teachers, psychiatrists, doctors, students, parents, administrators, all sorts of people who come and say, \u2018This 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.\u2019 And they just will not listen.\u201d
\nBy mid-afternoon Wednesday, students and local reporters started to share images and videos from the walkouts on social media.
\nAllison Steffen, a senior at Marion High School, north east of Cedar Rapids, and Hannah Neuville, a junior, said the walkout they organized at their school felt empowering. They said about 70 students and teachers joined them.
\n\u201cWe refuse to stay silent,\u201d Neuville said. \u201cThis generation has the power to speak up and out about issues that affect us. The government shouldn\u2019t have a say in private matters such as sexual orientation, gender identity \u2014 it doesn\u2019t affect them. And they say that they\u2019re doing it for protection. But who are they protecting?\u201d
\nSteffen added, \u201cWe say gay, we say trans and that will not change.\u201d
\nSome of the state\u2019s largest school districts are among the 21 districts that have students participating, including Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa City Community School District and Ankeny Community School District. Students at Grinnell College and Iowa State University have also signed up to the walkout, according to Waverly Zhao, a senior at Johnston High School, just north west of Des Moines, and an IowaWTF co-founder.
\nA spokesperson for Grinnell College said in an email that the school strongly supports civic engagement by Grinnell students.
\n\u201cWe are watching this legislation closely and are deeply concerned about its potential impact on members of our campus community,\u201d the statement said.
\nPhil Roeder, the spokesperson for Des Moines Public Schools, said he attended the walkout at Central Academy, a public secondary magnet school, along with more than 400 students.
\n“Students have the right to engage and speak out on issues that matter to them,” Roeder said in an email. “With that right comes responsibilities \u2014 such as not disrupting the education of students who do not participate in an event such as a walkout \u2014 but Des Moines Public Schools respects and supports our students in sharing their voices and ideas on topics important to their lives.”
\nIowa lawmakers have proposed at least 29 bills targeting LGBTQ people so far this year, according to One Iowa Action, a local advocacy group.
\nBullock said she is most worried about a group of bills that would ban instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity, including one that bars instruction of gender identity through eighth grade. Bullock also mentioned another bill that would prohibit school staff from withholding a student\u2019s gender identity from their parents if that gender identity differs from the student\u2019s assigned sex at birth, and a joint resolution introduced Tuesday by eight House Republicans that would outlaw same-sex marriage.
\nLawmakers have introduced bills seeking to restrict gender-affirming care for minors \u2014 which can include puberty blockers, hormone therapy and, rarely, surgery \u2014 in at least 23 states, including Iowa, so far this year. Utah, South Dakota and Mississippi have all enacted their bills, and Iowa advanced such a measure Tuesday, local NBC affiliate WHO-TV in Des Moines reported.
\nZhao said the ban on transition-related care could hurt the mental health of trans minors, who already face a higher risk of suicidal ideation. She said she also fears that the bills targeting schools could impact the emotional support that LGBTQ students receive at school \u2014 and may not receive at home.
\n\u201cThe worry here is that increasing the parental involvement in such a controversial issue and such a personal issue for a lot of students will definitely cause harm to them,\u201d she said.
\nSo far this year, state lawmakers from across the country have introduced over 300 bills targeting LGBTQ people, according to counts by both the American Civil Liberties Union and a separate group of researchers who are tracking the flow of legislation.<\/p>\n
Nbcnews<\/p>\n
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