Louisiana theatre students take to the state capitol to protest ‘don’t say gay’ bill
by Matt Bloom, Advocate
Jude Armstrong stepped one foot in front of the other, balancing on a tightrope stretched across the steps of Louisiana’s state capitol building.
Nearby, a paperweight held down three printed-out pages of legislation, including one bill that would require parental consent for students to change their pronouns at school. An audience looked on as Armstrong lifted a microphone to speak.
“Who wants to grow up in a state that hates you so much?” asked Armstrong, 16, who identifies as queer and recently changed his pronouns.
While looking at the crowd, he stepped off the rope and onto the ground. Two classmates then picked up the rope and wrapped it around his waist.
“All they want is for you to hate yourself,” Armstrong said to the audience. “That is the cruelest form of violence I can imagine.”
The stunt was part of a 45-minute-long performance by students from New Orleans’ Benjamin Franklin High School. The cast of 13 students traveled to Baton Rouge on March 27 to protest several anti-LGBTQ+ bills up for consideration by the Republican-controlled House and Senate.
The proposals include the pronoun use bill, as well as restrictions on sex-based bathroom use, effectively banning transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Another bill would restrict school employees from discussing their sexual orientation, which critics say mimics Florida’s “don’t say gay” law. The bathroom passed committee on Monday. The others are still awaiting a committee hearing.
Supporters argue the changes would protect parental rights and public health. Jeff Landry, Louisiana’s recently-elected Republican governor, has said he supports the legislation.
Pro-LGBTQ+ rights groups have condemned the measures, saying they harm vulnerable youth in a state that already bans trans student participation in sports and gender-affirming healthcare for minors. States with restrictions on student rights have seen a sharp rise in reported hate crimes against queer youth, according to a recent analysis by The Washington Post. (Nationwide, more than 479 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced this year.)