Equality Florida

Campaigns

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  Stop Florida's "Don't Say Gay" Bill

  The truth is that Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans are running a full-court press to attack our most vulnerable communities this legislative session. DeSantis' own Press Secretary Christina Pushaw took to Twitter with a bigoted, anti-LGBTQ rant regarding Florida's Don't Say Gay bill. In the two-tweet thread, she accuses LGBTQ people of being pedophiles. She continued throughout the weekend, retweeting similar language from right-wing outlets and lashing out at NBC's SNL for a skit on the bill. DeSantis owns this unbridled hatred. Time is running out. And it’s not just Florida: Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country have introduced over 100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, most of which especially target trans and nonbinary youth. So we must rise up to push back against these dangerous attacks. There is absolutely no time to waste. LGBTQ+ youth like me are counting on you to rise up and fight back. Bills like this cause further, immeasurable harm to communities that already face harassment, discrimination, and attacks like these day after day for simply existing. These bills are attempts at erasing us, stigmatizing us, and isolating us, and they would continue to push LGBTQ+ youth even farther to the margins. It's heartbreaking and hits way too close to home for me and so many others. These attacks are happening across the country, so it’s critical that all Floridians and people across the country know of the lengths Governor DeSantis and Republicans are willing to go in order to curb free speech, propagandize school curriculums, and police them in classrooms, private workplaces, and doctor’s offices. DeSantis and Republicans are willing to inflict harm on the most vulnerable in our state in order to shore up their extremist base. Together, we can stop DeSantis and Republican’s dangerous agenda by fighting back against white supremacy, homophobia, and transphobia.

  53,043 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Jack Petocz
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  Protect LGBTQ+ marriage equality and interracial marriage from Republican attacks NOW!

  Republicans, who have won the presidential popular vote only once in the last 34 years, have engaged in a concerted effort to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing extremist judges, who have stripped us of our rights over and over again. And though the Respect for Marriage Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, 157 House Republicans voted against it. That’s right: 157 Republicans voted against protecting interracial marriage and same-sex marriage. And ONLY 5 Republicans in the U.S. Senate have publicly said they would vote to pass the bill. It’s unacceptable, but part of the Republican agenda has been to relentlessly attack the LGBTQ+ community. Republicans have not minced words: Florida Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (who is up for re-election in November) said that voting to protect interracial and LGBTQ+ marriage equality was a “stupid waste of time.” And when Indiana Republican U.S. Senator Mike Braun was asked if he would be okay with the Supreme Court leaving the question of interracial marriage to the states, he said “Yes.” It’s disgusting. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, LGBTQ+ couples and families have been anxiously rushing to the courts to get married, completing second parent adoptions with their partners, worrying about whether or not their partners and families will be covered by their health insurance in the future, and so much more to protect their families from these attacks. It’s heartbreaking. No one should have to worry that their rights (that so many have fought and died for) will be stripped away at the hands of corrupt, illegitimate, and unelected Supreme Court justices that do not represent the people. The U.S. Senate needs to act before it’s too late. It’s time to pass the Respect for Marriage Act to protect interracial and LGBTQ+ marriage NOW.

  128,225 of 200,000 Signatures
• 

  DeSantis Press Secretary Calls LGBTQ People Child Molesters

  Equality Florida released this statement in response: Governor DeSantis' spokesperson said the quiet part out loud: that this bill is grounded in a belief that LGBTQ people, simply by existing, are a threat to children and must be erased. He chose Pushaw to speak his mind to the public. He owns this unbridled hatred. This same bigoted insinuation has long been been used to stigmatize our families, justify denying us the ability to adopt children, and is being used to justify the tracking of transgender children by government agents in Texas and threats to imprison their parents. Make no mistake — this is a tacit announcement from the Governor that he supports the true intent of the Don’t Say Gay bill: the erasure of LGBTQ people.

  152 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Equality Florida
• Stop attacking trans & nonbinary youth & withdraw anti-LGBTQ+ Florida DOH guidance NOW!

  These latest attacks come after Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans passed and signed the horrible homophobic and transphobic "Don't Say Gay" bill into law. Together, these are gross attempts at erasing, stigmatizing, and marginalizing the LGBTQ+ community. And the latest guidance from the Florida Department of Health is a clear attempt to replace medical professionals with politicians in service to DeSantis' own political ambitions. It should be withdrawn immediately.  DeSantis' runaway agenda of banning books, muzzling teachers, and erasing history is putting a handful of extremists in charge of every aspect of the lives of Floridians and is making the state less safe for LGBTQ+ families, especially trans and nonbinary kids. All Floridians are watching.

  7 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Equality Florida
• Let Zander Speak!

  Zander Moricz, an 18-year-old student at Pine View School, is a plaintiff in the "Don't Say Gay" lawsuit and his school’s first openly-gay Class President. School administration informed him that he was not permitted to reference his activism or role in the lawsuit in his graduation speech. If he were to do so, his microphone would be cut off and the ceremony would be brought to a halt. This is not the beginning of the administration's opposition to his LGBTQ+ advocacy. Upon discovering that he was organizing a Say Gay walkout, all posters advertising the event were ripped from the walls and they instructed him to shut the event down–leveraging the threat of school security. He held the walkout anyways, and it became Sarasota County’s largest protest. Now, he needs our help. Zander issued a call to action on Twitter that has since gone viral, urging Florida high school seniors to order free “Say Gay” stickers to wear at their graduation ceremonies. While hundreds of students responded, rallying behind the cause, the Sarasota County School Board still issued a statement explaining that, “a graduation should not be a platform for personal political statements,” and claiming to be prepared to “take appropriate action”.

  511 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Zander Moricz
• St. Petersburg Mayor & City Council: Suspend Relationship With Russian Sister/Friendship-City

  Equality Florida’s Executive Director, Nadine Smith, wrote a letter to St. Petersburg Mayor Foster and the City Council on August 12th urging them to suspend their “sister/friendship-city” relationship with St. Petersburg, Russia. Dear Mayor Foster, I am writing to urge the City of St. Petersburg, Florida to suspend it’s Sister City relationship with Saint Petersburg, Russia due to the recent rise in anti-gay violence and passage of extreme anti-gay legislation. Over the past year, Russia has passed several appalling laws aimed at dehumanizing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia and abroad. First was the ban prohibiting gay couples, or any couple or single parent living in a country with marriage equality, from adopting a Russian-born child. Next came a law allowing law enforcement to arrest tourists that are suspected to be lesbian, gay or even “pro-gay” and detain them for up to two weeks. Most recently the “gay propaganda” law was passed that said anyone organizing a Pride parade, any health official distributing information regarding safe sex between same-sex partners, or anyone talking to a child under the age of 18 about anything LGBT related can be subject to arrest or fine. The “gay propaganda” law specifically was conceived in our Sister City of Saint Petersburg, Russia. These laws send dangerous messages that LGBT people are not fit to be full members of society with all of the freedoms afforded to everyone else; that their mere existence is a danger to children. While Saint Petersburg, Florida joins so many other communities in guaranteeing workplace and family equality, ending hate violence, and celebrating our diverse community, we cannot stand silently by while close partners of our pursue policies of hate and violence. One important goal of the Sister City relationship is to encourage travel and cultural exchange amongst the citizens of our two cities. The anti-gay laws and lawless violence now being encouraged in Saint Petersburg, Russia negate this promise for not only Saint Petersburg, Florida's LGBT citizens, but for all who believe in equality, diversity and tolerance. Equally disturbing is the increase and public display of anti-gay violence. Russian white supremacist hate groups have been going online, luring young gay men (often minors) to a location where they are tortured in unimaginable ways, then releasing the photos and videos of the torture online. Law enforcement has done little to prevent these heinous attacks, or prosecute those responsible, sending clear signals that violence to LGBT people is officially acceptable. As a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida, I know our city has always been a leader in ensuring LGBT people are treated fairly and with respect. We take pride in knowing that all are welcome to live, work and play here. By continuing a Sister City relationship with Saint Petersburg, while these conditions are being not simply allowed, but promulgated by our Sister City government partners, we are turning a blind eye to the atrocities that are happening in Russia. I urge you and the entire St. Petersburg City Council to immediately suspend your Sister City relationship with Saint Petersburg, Russia and in doing so, tell them their treatment of LGBT is unacceptable. Sincerely, Nadine Smith Executive Director Equality Florida CC: Councilman Charles Gerdes Councilman Jim Kennedy Councilman Wengay Newton Councilman Bill Dudley Councilwoman Leslie Curran Councilman Steve Kornell Councilman Karl Nurse Councilman Jeff Danner Helen Rhymes

  121 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Equality Florida