The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group, has issued a warning to people traveling to Florida that the state has passed a number of bills that are hostile to LGBTQ people.
On Tuesday, HRC in an announcement stated that it had partnered with the Florida LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida to create an updated travel advisory. Equality Florida issued its first advisory in April, following Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his legislature’s decision to pass several measures that restrict access to gender-affirming health care, and abortion rights and provide fewer restrictions for firearms.
This year, there have been six bills in Florida that target LGBTQ people according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Of those six, four were signed into law last week by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has now launched his presidential campaign for 2024.
The advisory points out that the laws and policies which are restricting freedoms and could lead to multiple people facing both health and safety risks are enough for people to reconsider traveling to the state or even relocating out of the state permanently.
Apart from the laws, there are also multiple reports that point to Florida becoming an openly hostile area for LGBTQ Floridians as many Florida organizers canceled an array of Pride events that were scheduled for June.
Last week, healthcare providers including Planned Parenthood stated that in order to comply with the new law, they would be pausing gender-affirming medical care in Florida and restricting transition-related care for transgender adults. The Republican bill was specifically meant to block transition for children, not adults.
