A Florida LGBTQ organization warned that the state would not be safe to reside in or visit due to the “hostile” policies of the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
What specifics are there?
According to Equality Florida, it “took the historic step of issuing a travel advisory to individuals, families, business owners, and students warning that Florida might not be a safe place to come visit or take up permanent residence.”
The group went on to say that the travel warning “follows the passage of laws that are hostile toward the LGBTQ+ community, limit access to reproductive health services, overturn gun safety regulations, allow inexperienced, unpermitted carry, and promote racial prejudice.”
In addition, according to Equality Florida, DeSantis “has weaponized state departments to implement sanctions against companies large and small that disagree with his assaults on equality, diversity, and inclusion.”
The email from the group stated, “Florida has recently passed a slate of hateful regulations, and is fast-tracking further regulations that specifically target the rights of those who are LGBTQ+ and basic freedoms in general. Already, those policies have caused prospective students to remove Florida universities and colleges from their lists, Florida parents to consider moving, events and conferences to postpone future events, and the US military to provide redeployment for service members with families who are currently unsafe in the state.”
Equality DeSantis’ actions, according to Florida, have resulted in “attacks on medical freedom,” “attacks on academic freedom,” “censorship and elimination of the LGBTQ community,” “attacks on entertainment, arts, and athletic activities participation,” “attacks on business,” “efforts to incite racial prejudice,” the “repealing of gun safety regulations,” and “attacks on immigrant communities as a whole.”
Following a similar declaration from the Florida NAACP
The NAACP in Florida stated earlier this month that due to DeSantis’ policies and actions, it wants its national board to advise black people against traveling to or relocating to the state.
President of the NAACP Hillsborough County Branch Yvette Lewis said, “This man is attempting to eliminate the word ‘diversity’ altogether,” apparently referring to DeSantis. “They kick us and knock us down just as we believe we have arrived. And this is a problem that affects everyone, not just black people.”
According to the publication, DeSantis labeled the NAACP travel advice a “joke.”
According to Yahoo! News, the governor continued, “We’ll see how successful it is. Our nation has all these senseless conflicts. This stunt aims to do that.”
