Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is an expert in harming his state’s youth; just within the past few months he’s signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, attacked transgender student athletes and scolded kids for wearing masks. Thankfully, Florida’s youth are fighting back.
Last night, queer teen activist Jack Petocz got to experience the Governor’s flagrant lack of care firsthand as DeSantis’ security guards kicked him out of an event for demanding an answer on DeSantis’ lack of action against gun violence in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Growing up, I watched in terror as mass shooting after mass shooting occurred. Today, I asked Ron DeSantis directly, why he doesn’t care about my life and refuses to act on gun violence. Instead of answering me, he sent his security guards to kick me out. We deserve better. pic.twitter.com/u6qQWR6RI1
— Jack Petocz (@Jack_Petocz) June 3, 2022
Petocz does anything but shy away from threats by authorities. In March, he was suspended from Flagler Palm Coast High School for leading protests against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill (and, reportedly, for handing out rainbow flags at one of them).
Just weeks ago, Petocz was honored at the 2022 PEN America Literary Gala, receiving the Freedom of Expression Courage Award for his activism in fighting the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida.
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Thankfully, Petocz was not alone at last night’s DeSantis event, being joined by fellow activists like Students’ Rights Organization founder Jen Cousins and congressional candidate Maxwell Frost in calling out DeSantis’ inactivity against gun violence.
.@GovRonDeSantis wouldn’t tell me why he wants to put guns into the hands of dangerous people. Props to my partners in #GoodTrouble @tomaskenn @MaxwellFrostFL @Jack_Petocz @NewsCHill pic.twitter.com/zkk9p4a76U
— Jen 🏳️🌈 SAY GAY 🏳️⚧️ Cousins (@slytherbitch6) June 3, 2022
I just asked @GovRonDeSantis to take action on gun violence so we can save lives. That we lose 100 people a day.
His response? “Nobody wants to hear from you!” We are dying and our Governor is too busy helping @RubinReport make money. pic.twitter.com/LUOWQq3kQU
— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) June 3, 2022
After DeSantis’ latest move of trying to ban not only transition care for minors but Medicaid support for trans people of all ages, he will certainly not be seeing the last of Petocz and his fellow activists any time soon.
Cam
Republicans are bigots and cowards, this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
jt1990
That’s quite the over-generalization Cam. If you watch the video, the kid’s “questioning” sounded more like a meth-fueled death metal rehearsal. I doubt many could make out his words, if he actually used any. If it’s any consolation, I’m sure DeSantis needed new underwear right after. Being the primary focus of a raging addict can be frightening!
Den
Actually every word he spoke was easily understood. Perhaps you are simply too stupid to understand him? Or maybe you’re lying, as that is something people like you do so easily (but neither well nor intelligently). Or perhaps you are just taking the opportunity to express your distaste for LGBT people and how much you’d like to eat DeSantis’ feces for the right wing cred that would give you (I am sure that is looked on more favorably than eating Trump’s these days).
jcool
a couple of weeks ago when bennythehill disappeared i predicted he would slither back with a new screen name. so welcome jt1990, we missed you and your insightful comments.
johncp56
Ditto
ShiningSex
@jt1990, you sound that way. Republicans are idiots. if you don’t think so, then you’re the idiot too.
Bosch
Quite typical of jt to confuse intelligence with meth addiction, no? The whole point of anti-intellectualism is to keep the people dumb, and clearly it works.
abfab
How wonderful it would be to live in a world with out republikkkans in it. And Ronny…you always look like you’re smelling your own farts. Stop that! You’re ugly enough without having to make faces.
trojanboy
Florida is experiencing devolution. These people belong in museums. Preferably ones slated for immolation.
jt1990
Ronald has been a wonderful governor, but we didn’t vote him in for his looks. Enough with the “body-shaming” already!
CKNJ
awe jt, bad enough that your first statement precludes a civil answer (wonderful governor? REALLY?)… but that you have to carry water for him and hold his little snowflake hand as well is just pathetic. Go troll where morons want to hear from you!
James
jt1990
GET LOST LOSER.
Bengali
@jt1990 Embarrassed for you thinking he’s been a wonderful governor. He’s anti-lgbtq, anti-womens’ right to choose, burns books… do I need to go on?
You know what’s pathetic? You’re a troll. We know you’re a troll. You’re on here to get your pathetic voice heard. Perhaps you’re closeted and like spending time with gay men and women but you can’t admit to yourself that you’re one of us so you stand up for the lowest of the low who oppose us. Maybe I’M NOT GAY Christian Walker (Hersh’s son) would be a good companion for you. You could hate on the lgbtq+ community as a team.
Mr. Stadnick
jt1990 you didn’t vote for his looks you voted for his hatred and vulgarity. You voted to kill children in schools, demonized transgender people and to hate all. You voted to become the laughing stock of the nation and world. You voted to make Florida into more of a shithole than it had been.
Will you be voting for bigotry and racism again? Will you say we hate progress again with your next vote?
Watch out it may be you they come after next!!!
jt1990
@Bengali
@Mr. Stadnick
I’m not the only one who approves of DeSantis. Most Floridians are thankful he didn’t lock us in our houses for a couple years over a cold virus going around. We also like having control of our own bodies! Our governor helped strike down laws that would remove this very personal freedom.
Den
“thankful he didn’t lock us in our houses for a couple years over a cold virus going around”
Nobody was locked in their homes for a couple of years you idiot. And as it happens, Florida had one of the highest per capita death rates through the pandemic. Thanks to backwards yokels like you and your governor who are too dull to understand the simplest aspects of public health and think science is “against God” or some such foolish shit.
As for “having control of our own bodies” I am not at all surprised that you are too stupid and self absorbed to care about the health of your community, especially those who cannot benefit from vaccination for various reasons. There is this thing called the social contract where civilized people do things that benefit the community as a whole. This is especially true for public health issues. But people like you (right wing hetero trash) are hardly civilized and really need to be kept from civil society.
Bosch
@jt
“We also like having control of our own bodies!”
You mean just the men, don’t you?
Ignorant dumbass.
LMG
Ron DeSantass doesn’t care who gets killed or how many perish (look at his foolish latest gun laws), didn’t care about the number that died from COVID in this state, refuses to expand Medicaid, does nothing about a bulletin train in FL from here to NY or from Tampa to Orlando, and is a strutting ignoramus who brags that he saved the economy. But at WHAT COST? FL was running the highest number of daily cases and deaths in this country for a period of time. What good is a “good” economy if there’s no one left alive in this state to make use of it? People say that DeSantass is Trump with a brain. Excuse me! 10 X 0 still = 0. We MUST put someone else in Tallahassee than this creep with a wimpy voice, unless he’s shouting or bragging. An arrogant poseur.
Ken A.
Florida voted for him, so they deserve what they get. Someone who is not interested in serving the people but someone interested in serving himself.
Bengali
and the morons keep falling for it. GQP members continually vote against themselves in order to oppose anything Dems would like to keep in place or accomplish.
Mack
Just another right wing bigoted Republican. It’s his way or the highway. Hopefully students votes his ass out.
ZzBomb
I applaud these activists. We need more people doing similar. Shutting right wing conventions and speaking events down by drowning them with sheer numbers of people flooding the stage and auditoriums.
CNY1983
the hatred in that room was so thick you could call it GIRTH BROOKS.
FLORIDA?? YICK! I wouldnt set foot in that SLEAZY GREASY STATE.
dont say gay AND DONT SPEND YOUR MONEY IN A STATE THAT HATES GAY PEOPLE.
time to move on from the future UNDERWATER STATE OF FLORIDA.
buh bye!
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
The only thing DeSantis has been good for is stopping the left wing lunatics from forcing us into endless mask crap and lockdowns that i applaud him for the rest he can keep
LeBlevsez
Masks? Really? Good Lord you’re a flipping snowflake.
Den
The right wing is pretty much entirely snowflakes, motivated by fear, ignorance and stupidity. And “Truth’s” post makes that very clear.
jt1990
@Den if what you call “right wing” are all snowflakes, the USA would be underwater now. There’s lots of us out there! In reference to your earlier reply, many folks around the world faced arrest for simply walking outside. Australia went as far as sending drones to catch people in their own backyards. Many places in Europe, China, etc had similar strict rules. California’s restrictions pale in comparison to those countries, where masses of people died anyway. I know a few Liberals who drooled over these harassing tactics and threatened to leave the country. To this day, not one has even left Florida.
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
@jt. You are correct about that, i live in gay ground zero aka broward county home of wilton manors one of the gayest areas in the country and the overwhelming majority of my friends are the hysterical homo types like the ones who reply on queerty daily, all these silly dont say gay piss and moan queens complain about “DeathSantis” as these nuts call him yet in typical gay fashion during the height of their pandemic paranoia STILL went out to the club’s dancing on Saturday night THANKS to DeSantis’ policies while chastising me for refusing to wear one, u honestly cannot make this shit up. When I’d suggest they move to California or Illinois or ny where they loved masks and stay at home policies it was a are you crazy look…lol..instead of doing that they wanted to bring those actions to Florida are you f’ing crazy no way, the rest of us enjoy our freedom but boy you’re correct.
ShiningSex
TheAbsoluteIdiot. get a life troll. You’re a self loathing homo. Get some pride in who you are and stop defending those who want to see all of us with NO rights.
Bosch
And this is why your country has the highest COVID deaths per capita of all the western countries.
The republicans have turned the US into a third world country in oh so many ways.
JPB
I’d like to see activists in Florida call for no LGBTQA tourist dollars to be spent in Florida – get him where it hurts in his cojones . And you’re right about that face – Lawd, God still doesn’t like ugly.
cynicalsteve
DeSantis is a €unt. As are all republiQans.
JeffBaker
i hate to reference a TV show in a serious situation but DeSantis reminds me more and more of Governor Kodos from Star Trek. And there’s method to his malice: giving conservatives backbone to stand against mass protests by groups like the NBA.
Rocinante
Since it seems there have to be mass shootings; can’t they do something productive and take this POS, his whole cabinet and the majority of the Florida legislature out.
mz.sam
BRAVO and FIGHT ON Jack Petocz. In preserving democracy of this country needs more brave voices to speak up. Everyone who believes in the sanctity of humanity and the value of life need to ‘VOTE THEM OUT’ at the ballot box from local to state offices this coming November!
zephyr69
The answer isn’t more guns.
It’s less Republicans.
The answer isn’t prayer in schools.
It’s less Republicans.
The answer isn’t arming teachers.
It’s less Republicans.
America can do more with less.
My2CentsWorth
It is so off the wall bats**tty for anyone to suggest that the solution is to arm teachers so that they can get into a gun fight surrounded by children. Get rid of the guns and not add more guns is a better solution. Of course, arming teachers means profitable gun sales.
My2CentsWorth
I wonder what would happen if NO ONE responded to the postings of jt1990. Is it possible that he would decide to go away? His comments and the responses (seemly from decent and intelligent people) only encourage him to continue.
inbama
You prefer blogs where everyone is of the same opinion?
Bosch
@inbama
You pretending you appreciate diversity of opinion? Pffffff.
My2CentsWorth
No inbama. Just not the counter productive type by people who’s contribution is not constructive and have no intention of being so.
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
By constructive you mean not of the typical liberal left gay mindset…anyone who happens to be gay with an opposite viewpoints opinion are not constructive in your view. Too bad for you that we aren’t all goose stepping in line with your agenda..sorry not sorry
Bosch
AbsoluteTruth here trying to rationalise his internalised homophobia…
ud06154
There are many gay republicans who don’t fall in line with the typical leftist views. They follow democratic policy’s under the guise that it’s the party supporting the gay cause which is NOT true. All they’re after is the gay vote. Just like they demand the black and Latino votes. They are the party of division and cancellation. Most of their agendas are based on twisted truths about conservatives.
Kangol2
You sound incoherent, so maybe don’t start drinking so early in the morning, especially before you post on Queerty.
Bosch
The republicans literally divide along race and sexuality, and cancel human rights. Pay attention.
WesternSatyr
My comment is to the people who commented under you.
The first one: yeah, I guess with all that ghb in your system you can’t drink, huh?
The second one: really? The republicans are using race, sex, and gender to divide the nation? No one here can even listen to a full speech from a republican, if you even tried. You have no idea what they are saying, you only know what democratic operatives are telling you.
Republicans, and most of the population is just trying to make sense of the bullshit that is being forced upon us. Democrats are using ridiculous concepts to confuse, and quite frankly anger, society. They know they are doing it because when people act out, they hide the people of colour, trans, and gay people who are committing crimes (or fake hate crimes against themselves) and sensationalizing anything (even if it happens to be nothing) about the white population. Then they say white supremacy is out of control while ignoring thousands of black youth that are killed in the inner city every year (but why should they or you care about that?), ignoring out of control drug addiction in all categories of people in the United States, foreign governments stealing our intellectual property, the president being a vegetable, and our leaders making millions off of insider trading.
LinwoodLA
Love that 17 year olds are finding a voice! So disappointed in FL first for voting for Ron D, and for continuing to support him now in office.
johncp56
It is truly sad that there are this many people in denial, or just morons that do not change the gun laws , How do we fight a GOP of greedy gun sucking morons,
Kangol2
The GQP and NRA operate in lockstep. What none of these pro-RepubliQanon gay people, who love to bray about how their beliefs differ from those of the “liberal left,” will dare say how much they oppose all of the anti-LGBTQ crap the right-wing RepuQ Party and its adherents on the courts are constantly pushing. They go silent. Some are so self-loathing they attack LGBTQ people first, rather than push back against the anti-LGBTQ GQP.
Ask them how often they challenged Don the Con’s anti-gay/anti-trans judges. Ask them how often they challenge RepubliQanon anti-gay/anti-trans politicians? Ask they when they are more eager to attack LGBTQ on sites like this than the people trying to snuff out our–and their–rights all over the US?
mustangted
jt1990 sounds just like a Crack head. Hey guy you’re Meth is boiling over.
WesternSatyr
Fighting to let teachers talk about sex and gender confusion, and to keep secrets from their parents of a sexual nature, is pretty scary. Just because y’all have fantasies about being screwed by men that held power over you, doesn’t make it okay to actually encourage them to talk to minors about sex without curriculum or guidance and then hide it from parents.
stafcoyote
That’s homophobic nonsense.
LeBlevsez
‘Nonsense’ is the best you can expect from someone calling himself “Satyr” then posting jealously about the sexual dynamics of others.
stafcoyote
DeSantis is clearly decompensating. Freud would have been fascinated.