Don't Say Gay: The Government's Silence and the Equal Protection Clause

Authors

Clifford Rosky, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of UtahFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0001-6623-7025

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2022

Abstract

This paper will argue that the LGBT movement has played, and will continue to play, a significant role in developing doctrines that subject government speech to the requirements of the Equal Protection Clause. In particular, the paper will examine how this doctrine is being developed in litigation around anti-LGBT curriculum laws—statutes that prohibit or restrict the discussion of LGBT people and topics in public schools. It argues that this litigation demonstrates how the Equal Protection Clause can be violated by the government’s silence, as well as the government’s speech. In addition, it explains why the Don’t Say Gay Laws recently passed in Florida and Alabama are unconstitutional, for the same reasons as the anti-LGBT curriculum laws passed in earlier eras.

Recommended Citation

Clifford Rosky, Don't Say Gay: The Government's Silence and the Equal Protection Clause, 2022 U. Ill. L. Rev. 1845 (2022)