As LGBTQ+ students and staff across the country are returning to schools this year, they’re entering a harsh reality.

 They aren’t safe from being who they are. 

This year, there have been a record-breaking number of bills and laws introduced in states across the country that target the queer community. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 494 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced or passed so far in the 2023 legislative session.

There are close to 300 education-related bills that have been introduced or passed so far this year. Harmful aspects of these bills include restricting teaching and discussing gender and sexuality in public schools (similar to the highly controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida,) requiring teachers to notify parents if a student starts using a different name or pronouns called “forced outing” bills and much more.

In the past couple of years, there have also been a record-breaking number of book bans in schools and libraries. The American Library Association found in its 2022 annual book censorship report that there were 1,269 challenges to over 2,500 books, a 75 percent increase from 2021.

More than half of 2022’s most challenged books contained LGBTQ+ subject matter, the association discovered.

We’re seeing the assault on the queer community right here in Ohio, as the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 8 and 68 this June. The bills, which were condemned by the Human Rights Campaign, would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth and prohibit transgender students from participating in school sports aligning with their gender identity.

To me, it’s clear that these types of discriminatory bills and bans are coming from conservatives attempting to push their own prejudices and beliefs and bake them into our laws, our schools and our communities.

I’m a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and it frightens me that today, in 2023, we’re still fighting for our basic human rights and our existence.

The attacks on the queer community in the classroom are especially dangerous and harmful. Schools are made for students to learn and to grow and discover who they are. 

The attempts to silence those who appear to be “different” cannot go unseen.

Representation matters, especially in the classroom. If students don’t feel they’re being represented, seen or heard, that can be extremely damaging to their overall wellbeing and affect them as they grow older.

The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, reported that a little over half of LGBTQ+ youth and about half of trans and non-binary youth found school to be an affirming place. Additionally, only 37 percent of LGBTQ+ young people found their home to be LGBTQ+-affirming. 

These staggering numbers further show the need for continued pushback against the destructive laws that we’re seeing today. Now more than ever, queer voices need to be lifted up.

Our country is in a battle against itself with hate. We must stand against that hate and emerge stronger.

With every attempt to dim the lights of those who appear to be different, we can’t let those lights go out. 

No matter how many people try to erase us, we’re never going away.

Aden Graves is an opinion writer. Contact him at [email protected]