say gay

This Florida high school might want to think twice about messing with 17-year-old Jack Petocz

Image: Twitter

A Florida high school student who led walkouts in opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill is speaking out after his school barred him from running for class president.

17-year-old junior Jack Petocz, who identifies as gay, took to Twitter to blast Flagler Palm Coast High School’s action, which comes after he was briefly suspended in March for organizing the protest.

The legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in late March, bans teachers from engaging with students on topics of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grade levels

“When I returned [from suspension], the administration assured me that no further disciplinary action would be taken. A month later, they broke this verbal agreement and placed a level 3 referral on my record. Now, due to this high level of discipline, I am being prevented from running for senior class president,” Petocz said in the statement on Tuesday.

“I am continuing to be punished for standing up for my identity and against widespread hatred. I’ve emailed [the] administration and the principal numerous times, they’re simply ignoring me,” he continued.

Petocz also asked for help “in calling on these administrators to stop silencing queer students fighting for a more inclusive future.”

“I won’t be discouraged by this obvious attempt to silence our voices. We will keep protesting, we will keep speaking, we will keep fighting until no child is subjected to this kind of abuse of power. Queer and trans students are beautiful and loved no matter what the state has to say about it,” he said.

In a followup tweet, Petocz encouraged folks to send an email to school and district officials:

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