Utah students have joined with a statewide pro-LGBT group to sue the government over a "don't say gay" law that prevents school from talking about LGBT rights in the classroom.
Equality Utah Executive Director Troy William announced the lawsuit at a fundraiser on Friday, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Williams said that the Utah law "sends a message that our lives are something shameful, something that must be censored or erased."
Seven other states have similar laws: Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
The law prevents teachers and school staff from talking about homosexuality in classrooms like health or social studies, as well as in discipline, like if a student is being bullied because he or she is gay.
Equality Utah is challenging the law in U.S. district court in Salt Lake City, arguing that these laws violate the rights to free speech and equal treatment afforded students under the First and Fourteenth amendments.
