TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group has joined multiple other civil rights groups in issuing a Florida travel advisory Tuesday, warning that new state laws and policies are “hostile” to the LGBTQ community, minorities and immigrants.
The Human Rights Campaign along with Equality Florida, which had already issued an advisory last month, posted an updated one for the LGBTQ community, citing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies. In a news release, the two organizations warned LGBTQ people of the “risks associated with relocation or travel” to the Sunshine State because of six bills passed this Legislative session.
While the advisory is not “a blanket recommendation against travel nor a call for boycott,” it outlines the “devastating impacts” of multiple laws that are “hostile” to the LGBTQ community, minorities, and immigrants, the news release reads. The Human Rights Campaign said the advisory is to help individuals and their families make decisions as potential travelers or residents.
“Those who visit must join us in their vocal opposition to these dangerous policies,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, in the release.
The Human Rights Campaign’s updated warning also follows recent travel advisories or relocation warnings issued by the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Florida Immigrant Coalition. The warnings come amid the DeSantis administration’s sweep of restrictive legislation targeting the LGBTQ community, education, reproductive health, and immigration, among others.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a media request about the Human Rights Campaign advisory. But it has responded to previous advisories, calling them stunts.
“We aren’t going to waste time on political stunts but will continue doing what is right for Floridians,” said Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis’ press secretary, in an email last week.
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Advisory follows approval of several anti-LGBTQ bills
Last week, DeSantis, who is expected to officially announce his presidential campaign on Wednesday, signed into law four bills that directly or indirectly target transgender people and the broader LGBTQ community.
The four bills were among more than a dozen filed this session by Republican lawmakers tackling transgender and LGBTQ issues.
“We are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that,” DeSantis said at the bill signing.
The new laws restrict gender-affirming care for kids and adults, require people to use public bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth, ban kids from attending “adult live performances,” restrict preferred pronouns in schools and expand Florida’s Parents Right law, derided by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
“Because of Ron DeSantis and his frenzied appeal to extremists, LGBTQ+ people in Florida are finding themselves in a state of emergency every single day,” Robinson said. “Since the day he took office, Governor DeSantis has weaponized his position to weave bigotry, hate and discrimination into public law for his own political gain.”
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Ripple of travel advisories against Florida
The Human Rights Campaign’s updated travel advisory comes days after similar warnings were issued by other civil rights organizations.
The NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and the League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s largest and oldest Hispanic organization, also warned of Florida’s “open hostility” toward Black American and Latino communities last week.
The advisories cited laws signed by DeSantis that ban state funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Florida’s public universities, censor accurate teachings of U.S. history, target immigrants, and expand the state’s ability to restrict or ban books.
Last month, when Equality Florida issued its original advisory, so did the Florida Immigrant Coalition. The coalition, which is made up of more than 65 organizations, warned of the potential risks of traveling or relocating to Florida.
Sunshine State tourism
Florida is one of the most popular states for tourists to visited in the United States and the state has the fourth highest gross domestic product in the country, with a large portion of that revenue coming from the tourism industry.
More than 137.5 million tourists visiting last year, which surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion agency. The industry supports 1.6 million full-time and part-time jobs, and visitors spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019, according to last year’s figures.
Bryan Griffin, another aide for DeSantis, shared the governor’s Twitter post about 2023’s record Q1 tourism results, which pointed to the largest volume of visitors ever recorded in a single quarter. “But what about all of the Democrat travel advisories?” he asked.
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Contributing: Lianna Norman and Brandon Girod, USA TODAY Network; Associated Press
