Republican lawmakers in Florida have passed a series of bills that target the state’s queer communities. The bills, which have been criticized for their extreme nature, include measures that crack down on public pride parades, businesses hosting queer events, and gender-affirming care.
One of the bills, SB254, bans all age-appropriate gender-affirming care for children and severely restricts it for adults. It also allows children “subjected” to or “at risk” of gender-affirming health care to be removed from supportive parents.
ACLU Florida’s Kara Gross called the state’s assault on transgender people “hateful, extreme and unprecedented.” She added, “This is state-sanctioned discrimination against Florida’s vibrant trans community.”
Another bill, HB1521, is a “bathroom bill” that bans businesses from providing gender-inclusive restrooms and changing facilities. The ACLU warns that the hateful bills make it “impossible for transgender people to go about their daily lives like everyone else.”
Meanwhile, SB1438 allows the state to crack down on – and even shut down – businesses hosting queer-friendly shows or drag performances. It also gives Florida the power to prohibit minors from attending events it deems “inappropriate.”
Advocates warn that if Republican governor Ron DeSantis signs that bill into law, it would mean the end of public Pride parades in the state. Already, a local group, Pride of the Treasure Coast, has canceled its weekend parade and restricted its PrideFest event.
Equality Florida said even before the hateful bill was signed into law, “its bigoted effects are already being felt.” The organization added that “our resistance is needed now more than ever. Our visibility is needed. Drag art is needed. PRIDE is needed. It’s time to raise our flags higher than ever before.”
Florida’s recent expansion of its “Don’t Say Gay” law prohibiting school discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity to all year levels further underscores the state’s hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community.
