LONGWOOD, Fla. – People rallying against the Parental Rights in Education bill say limiting a child’s capacity for self-expression and gender identity would be extremely harmful, and that today, there are many young kids who are struggling with their gender identity.

Daisy McCarthy, who lives in Longwood and opposes the bill, says if passed, it will not only make life more difficult for these kids, but it will set a harmful precedent.

McCarthy is a transgender woman, who grew up here in Central Florida, and can’t recall a time when she didn't consider herself part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Long before I entered preschool," she said. "But, I didn’t have the words to say what I identified with. All of the signs were there for my whole family, for truly anyone who knew me.”

The 2012 Lake Mary High School graduate now calls costume construction a crucial part of her career.

She says hearing about the advances of the Parental Rights in Education Bill, AKA, “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is like a needle in her side.

"I think this bill passing does very little to help anybody and does an awful lot to stigmatize, and make people perceive LGBTQ plus folks as even more different than they already might be." said McCarthy.

McCarthy remembers all too well the bullying and pain that came along with the word “gay.”

That’s why she believes conversations about self-expression and gender identity need to happen early on, so words to identify them aren't used instead to put people down.

“Truthfully, if I had been handed any of the information that I didn’t get until later in elementary school, I would have had the power to say ‘that doesn’t mean anything to me," she said.

One of the biggest points those against the bill want to make is LGBTQ discussions are about much more than sexuality, but about who people feel that they are,even if that viewpoint changes later on in life.