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Why Florida is America’s Least Gay-friendly State

Why Florida is America’s Least Gay-friendly State

From Axios – Reprinted in it’s entirety:

As Pride Month begins Saturday, Floridians will notice a vivid difference: Instead of casting rainbows, bridges around the state will only light up in red, white and blue. The DeSantis administration, which issued this year's ban on rainbow lights, is calling it "Freedom Summer."

Why it matters: Ever since the headline-making "Don't Say Gay" law, Gov. Ron DeSantis has turned Florida into a test kitchen for anti-LGBTQ+ restrictions that have since spread to other states.

State of play: Florida bans transgender women and girls from participating in sports for female students. Trans people can't use bathrooms at schools and government buildings that match their gender identity.

The latest: Earlier this year, state agencies barred trans people from changing their driver's license to match their gender identity.

Stunning stat: A Human Rights Campaign Foundation survey conducted last fall found 80% of transgender or nonbinary Floridians don't want to stay.

Yes, but: LGBTQ+ advocates are actually more hopeful than they've been in recent years.

The Florida Legislature, meanwhile, had less of an appetite for culture-war bills than in years past.

  • All but one of 22 measures with negative implications for gay and transgender Floridians failed, Equality Florida senior policy advisor Carlos Guillermo Smith tells Axios.

What they're saying: "Intense collective opposition" from advocates was responsible for those wins, Guillermo Smith says.

  • "LGBTQ+ Floridians are proud, we are resilient, and we're determined to carry on in spite of the governor's obsession with attacking our community for political gain."

The other side: DeSantis' office has dismissed warnings about Florida's LGBTQ+ hostility as stunts, often while citing record tourism to the state.

What's next: St. Pete Pride, Florida's biggest Pride celebration, is underway, and its parade is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people on June 22.

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