In a recent interview with Fox News, a student said he was banned from his high school graduation ceremony after stating there are only two genders. The student also lost out on a firefighting job offer over his remarks.
“Girls are girls, and guys are guys. There is no in-between,” 18-year-old Travis Lohr said, as KHQ reported.
Lohr’s remarks came at his high school assembly, where seniors at Idaho’s Kellogg High School offer advice to younger students.
Over 100 parents, students, and community members recently gathered to protest the high school’s decision to ban Lohr from the graduation ceremony over his remarks.
“I didn’t direct it at any groups or anything like that; it was just something I chose to say in the moment,” Lohr told Fox News, adding that his remark received an “uproar of cheers.”
According to the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Lohr said he ignored his preapproved remarks at the assembly to instead speak from the heart.
Dakota Mailloux, a school bus driver who joined the protest, told Fox News he was fired for participating.
Lohr said he was not asked to apologize over his remarks, nor would he have, he told Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy during the interview.
“What I said I believe in, and I stand by it,” Lohr said. “I wasn’t able to walk at graduation. My offer to work for the forest service was rescinded.”
Lohr told Campos-Duffy he was scheduled to begin work recently, but upon completing his final paperwork, his boss told him he was rescinding the offer. Lohr described the job as “fighting wildland forest fires.”
“That’s part of life, as I am learning, and I am going to continue to grow from here. I’m not going to dwell on it,” Lohr said.
“I don’t believe I would have been punished at all, personally, if I had said ‘black lives matter,'” Lohr told Campos-Duffy.
“For this to happen over what I said, it’s just controversial … If people speak up like I did … it seems frowned upon. You can be punished for it, obviously, like I’m being punished,” he added.
Former high school student describes being banned from attending graduation over genders declaration: "I don't believe I would have been punished at all, personally, if I had said Black lives matter." pic.twitter.com/lrvAEIwRND
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 4, 2023
Despite an announcement from Kellogg School District saying graduation would be delayed because of “safety concerns,” Kellogg High School held its ceremony.
