She cried with the kids, and offered them mom hugs. Jen Cousins, a parent in the district, was with Larkins and other queer youth in the statehouse when “Don’t Say Gay” passed. “We are discriminated against in schools, and we know that we can get worse, and we know that we can revert back.” “We are protesting out of survival,” they say. Larkins has been accused of being a “groomer,” the euphemism for the trope of gay pedophile weoponized against LGBTQ+ people in the 1970s and, more recently, against people who are protesting against bills like “Don’t Say Gay.” (Larkins point out that, at 17, they are a kid - “I can’t be a groomer.”) Will Larkins outside the Orange County Public Schools board meeting in June 2022.įor them, the fight to be openly queer at school, to not worry about laws that may limit what they can say about themselves, feels like life or death. Larkins and their peers were escorted by police out of the meeting, Larkins was dragged by their shirt collar, singing, “Let us read!” They were met by protesters outside.
And look into the eyes of the people who were killed and their families, and what their families have put up, and see that these are real people with little possessions and inside jokes on the wall that we will never understand because they’re gone.”Ī few weeks before the anniversary and a few miles from Pulse, Larkins went in front of the Orange County Public Schools board meeting and asked that the board ensure that queer youth have books that reflect them in light of the “Don’t Say Gay” law and the rise of book bans. “I think it’s very important that people go there and really think about everything that’s happened surrounding this area. “I’m like ‘history lesson: you have to know your culture, you’re in Orlando,’” Larkins says. They have become a voice for queer youth nationally. Larkins is gay and nonbinary and just finished their junior year of high school in Orlando. Will Larkins, 17, says they will tell people about Pulse, whether or not teachers do.
FREE GAY PORN SITES DROP DOWN MENU HOW TO
Will teachers in Orlando be able to talk about the massacre at Pulse? Will they be too scared of potential consequences under the new law to figure out how to tell students about this part of the city’s history? But LGBTQ+ advocates fear kids won’t learn about their own local history. Proponents say it shields kids from learning about sensitive issues at too young an age. The Parental Rights in Education Bill, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, is a vaguely worded piece of legislation that aims to limit discussion of gender and sexuality in schools. They don’t want that, but they also don’t want it to be erased, a worry that stems from a new state law that limits what teachers can say about sexual orientation and gender identity.
The museum, they worry, is turning a site of dozens of deaths into a tourist attraction.
Still, some victims’ families and survivors are angry about how the shooting has been memorialized. Six years after the shooting, many are marking the anniversary. A $45 million museum is slated to open just blocks from the club, a place for people to come and remember Christopher and the 48 other victims, including his partner, Juan Guerrero. The site draws a steady stream of tourists, especially in June when Orlando marks another year since the shooting. Its fading facade is wrapped in photos and flowers. history and the second deadliest mass shooting in the country - remains standing. Pulse - the site of the most deadly LGBTQ+ massacre in U.S. “Florida is erasing gay history,” Christine Leinonen said in reference to the ‘Don’t Say Gay bill’. The room is still intact since his death. (Tina Russell for The 19th) Christine Leinonen holds the clothing Christopher Leinonen was killed in. Christine Leinonen becomes emotional when speaking about her son, Christopher Leinonen at her home in Polk City, Florida. Her eyes are wet, but she holds back the tears. “I want everything that belongs to Christopher,” she stammers. Since then, Christine’s home - a cluttered three-bedroom she downsized into to save enough money in order to send Christopher to college - has served as a kind of personal memorial. She points out a spot by the ankle where a hole goes clean through both sides.Ĭhristopher was among the 49 people gunned down at Orlando gay nightclub Pulse on June 12, 2016. The same tiny holes run up and down the legs. “You can see that these bullets that go through, they’re not that dramatic, they’re teeny,” Christine says.