Hundreds of Iowa City students join statewide 'We Say Gay' walkout to protest legislation

As Ace Drumbarger and over 200 of his fellow students in the Iowa City Community School District approached the Old Capitol, applause broke out from another 100 people who were waiting on the Pentacrest.

Drumbarger, an eighth-grade student at Southeast Junior High School in Iowa City, was part of a crowd of mostly students who met there Wednesday after staging a "'We Say Gay' walkout in Iowa schools.

Their aim was to protest recent legislative bills they say discriminate against the rights of LGBTQ youth. The bulk of the Iowa City group came from Iowa City High School and marched over a mile to the Old Capitol. Statewide organizers estimated that students in 47 schools across Iowa, from Des Moines to Ames to Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, left classes to join protests.

Drumbarger, who is transgender and uses he/they pronouns, said the sight of so many people turning out to support LGBTQ youth in Iowa City and across the state brought him to tears. He was one of more than 30 students who spoke to the crowd.

"Ever since I've came out I've wanted to hide and I shouldn't have to hide who I am," he said. "Nobody should have to go through this, especially not a 14-year-old."

Protest the largest since Supreme Court abortion ruling

In addition to Southeast Junior High and Iowa City High, students came to the gathering from schools all around Johnson County, including at least one student from Solon and several others from West High School.

As the students made their way through the streets of Iowa City, they chanted "we say gay" and "love is love" as cars honked in support and bystanders cheered them on. The group of marchers took a five-minute break in the Pedestrian Mall before completing the final leg of their journey, arriving at the Pentacrest around 2 p.m.

It was the largest protest at the Pentacrest since over 1,000 people gathered to protest the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year.

Zee Lauer helped organize a rally at the Old Capitol in support of trans rights nearly a year ago. They are nonbinary and use they/them pronouns.

"It's just so crazy that I am back here on these steps protesting .... . It is so insane that teenagers are killing themselves left and right and (Iowa lawmakers) just don't" care, they said.

Iowa City mayor addresses crowd

The Iowa City Community School District distributed a notice Tuesday saying it respected students' right to protest and telling parents to make sure their children had their consent before participating in the walkout. It made no reference to any potential disciplinary action against participants.

"We will work to ensure that those who choose to participate in the protest are able to do so in a way that creates minimal disruption to the learning environment," the notice said.

Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague was one of the first speakers at the Pentacrest on Wednesday and told the crowd he and his husband had just returned home from their honeymoon. He said he has been hurt by what the Iowa Legislature is proposing this session, including legislation aimed at constraining gender identity, sexual orientation, gender-affirming care and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Student organizers said they worry about the repercussions of those bills, which would, among other things, ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender and nonbinary youth under 18.

Teague encouraged the students and his fellow speakers to let their voices be heard.

“I just returned on Sunday from my honeymoon. I spent nine days with the love of my life, the person who I believe God sent just for me. And this person happens to be a man, a wonderful human being who I happen to be in love with,” he said. “As your leader I stand in full solidarity and I will continue to do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ rights.”

Johnson County Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke about their own experience as a transgender and queer person who came out to friends and family in the 1990s. Fixmer-Oraiz this fall was the first transgender, queer and biracial Iowan elected to countywide office.“I know that pain so intimately, but I’m also here to tell you that you are not alone, that you are so loved and that we will rise above this. We will,” they said.Fixmer-Oraiz encouraged the students to run for office to “right this wrong” when they're old enough and told them to visit their office, pointing out the Johnson County’s government building ― “the one with the trans flag flying over it.”

Students in Des Moines march to governor's mansion

In Des Moines, about 400 students marched from Central Academy in sunny, temperate weather to the governor's mansion, chanting "We say gay!" "What do you want? Justice! When do you want it? Now!" and "Trans rights are human rights."

One Central Academy administrator estimated about half of the students in the building took part in the march.

"In this legislative session, we've had a lot of bills introduced that would limit the rights of LGBTQ students," said Josue Aleman, walkout organizer for Des Moines' East High School senior and Central Academy, "and obviously we all took notice, it's not hidden from us."

East High senior Dayton Fleenor said he joined the walkout because the proposed bills will be especially harmful to LGBTQ students, particularly House File 180, which would require parental consent before children may identify themselves by different pronouns in school.

"Any person knows if your parent doesn't agree with what you are, life is not going to be easy for you … we're just trying to make it easier for all of those students," he said.

In Ames, where students from Ames High School and Iowa State University joined the walkout, Zack Pinto, an Ames High senior who is a transgender male, expressed similar concerns.

He said he came out to close friends and teachers first.

"My teachers are like a second family to me," he said.

Being able to express his gender around people before he started hormone replacement therapy four months ago helped him understand his decision beforehand and know it was the right call to make, he said.

"Having someone I could rely on was very important to me," Pinto said, adding that he wants other students to have the same kind of support he did.

Bills part of governor's 'parental control' agenda

The statewide protests were organized by IowaWTF and Iowa Queer Student Alliance in conjunction with groups at each school district.

The protests come one day after Republican lawmakers introduced the bill that would bar gender-affirming care for minors and prohibit students from using a school bathroom that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

A separate bill proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Senate Study Bill 1145, would require school staff to tell a student's parent or guardian if they believe their child is transgender. The measures are all part of Reynolds' "parental control" agenda, which she says is necessary because "woke" policy decisions by school districts are undermining parents.

"Parents are the decision-makers for their children," Reynolds said at a talk for the free market Cato Institute. "I think it’s so sad that we have to codify that in today’s environment, but the fact of the matter is we have to."

Variations of these bills have been put forward by lawmakers around the country over the last few years, including the widely publicized "Don't Say Gay" legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida last year.

The "We Say Gay" walkout is a play on that bill and others like it, said Waverly Zhao, a Johnston High School senior and co-founder of IowaWTF.

"(The walkout) also promotes the need for conversations about LGBTQIA+ issues in schools, which is something that is being taken away with a lot of these bills," she said.

Des Moines Register staff writers Samantha Hernandez, Chris Higgins, Francesca Block and Stephen Gruber-Miller and Ames Tribune staff writer Phillip Sitter contributed to this article.

George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (319) 214-5039, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City students join statewide 'We Say Gay' school walkout protest