Transgender activists crowded into Florida’s capitol building in Tallahassee on Friday, shouting and demanding “trans rights.”
The protesters gathered in the rotunda inside Florida’s capitol building, holding signs reading “Cure Transphobia” and “Stop Trans Genocide,” among other slogans.
“This fight does not end here!” one protester yells to others in a video posted to social media.
“We keep showing up every single day! We keep making our voices heard!” the protester continues.
“Whose schools? Our schools!” the crowd then chants, led by the first protester.
BREAKING: Trans activists rally in Florida Capitol chanting "Whose schools? Our schools!" as bill passes that continues crackdown on sexual orientation and gender identity teachings
Video taken by reporter @Ernie_Sampera pic.twitter.com/nXiO3wQBdL
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 31, 2023
The “Our schools!” chant likely refers to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ parental rights education law, which prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for kindergarten through third grade, or in a way that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate. Critics dubbed the bill “Don’t Say Gay” despite the word “gay” not appearing anywhere in the bill text. The bill went into effect last year.
The Florida capitol demonstration was just one of many protests across the country for “Transgender Day of Visibility.” Protests were planned for Friday in all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C.
The protests come just days after a trans-identifying school shooter killed six at a Christian school in Tennessee.
On Monday, a 28-year-old woman who identified as a man entered The Covenant School in Nashville, a Christian school she previously attended, and opened fire, killing three nine-year-olds and three adults in their 60s. She was shot and killed by police on the scene.
Nevertheless, President Biden recognized “Transgender Day of Visibility” on Friday by blaming “MAGA extremists” for “attacks” on trans-identifying people, just days after the Nashville shooting.
One transgender activist group, the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN), had called for a “Trans Day of Vengeance” on Saturday in Washington, D.C. Protesters were told to show up to the Supreme Court wearing masks and with a buddy.
However, that event was canceled due to “a credible threat to life and safety,” the group said on its website.
“This threat is the direct result of the flood of raw hatred directed toward the trans community after the Tennessee shooting,” TRAN said. “Individuals who had nothing to [do] with that heinous act have been subjected to highly serious threats and blamed only because of their gender identity. This is one of the steps in genocide, and we will continue our efforts to protect trans lives.”
Over the last two years, many red and purple states have implemented restrictions on medical child sex changes. Several states approved bans in just the last few weeks.
The wave of bans on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries for children has spurred much of this week’s protests.
On Wednesday, transgender activists descended on the Kentucky state capitol building in Frankfurt after Kentucky’s GOP-led legislature voted to override Democrat Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill restricting medical child sex changes.
Some of the Kentucky protesters chanted “Shame! Shame!” inside the capitol rotunda.
At least 19 people were arrested at the Kentucky protest.
Already, 10 states have active bans on medical child sex changes. Several states are waiting on their governors to sign bans the legislature has passed. Other states have restrictions on child sex changes stuck in court.