The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada hosted community leaders on Monday who wanted to speak out against legislation that limits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The event was announced last week after Nevada Senate candidate and former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt praised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ signing of the Parental Rights in Education bill, called the “Don’t Say Gay” law by opponents.
Silver State Equality State Director Andre Wade said Laxalt’s endorsement of the measure is part of a “career-long attack on the LGBTQ-plus community."
“We cannot and we will not let men like Adam Laxalt, Ron DeSantis and Gregg Abbott continue to attack our children and our community. We will not allow Nevada to succumb to the hateful and discriminatory desires of Adam Laxalt," he said.
Gender Justice Nevada Executive Director Sy Bernabei echoed Wade’s concern about children affected by bills like this.
“LGBTQ students are already bullied for who they are. The 'Don’t Say Gay' bill will only make things worse for these kids. You will see more hate crimes and because of the narrative that being gay is not okay, it gives bullies the right to try to correct them," Bernabei said. "We’re going to see more of them on the streets, sleeping out of cars and at shelters. We’re going to see higher dropout rates and more suicides because when you try to silence young people, they think less of themselves and they feel like society does not want them.”
More than a dozen states are considering their own versions of the Florida law.