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Just days before communities across the country prepared to celebrate Pride, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a sweeping slate of hate into law, capping off the most anti-LGBTQ session in state history with new laws restricting health care for transgender young people and adults, students' rights to use the bathroom at school, drag shows and more. After months of vitriol and callous attacks on transgender young people, many parents fear raising their children in a state governed by extremists. With hate and misinformation rising across the country, it is time we recognize that Florida is simply the frontline in a national battle.
Far too many parents are now being forced to choose between remaining in the place they have long called home or packing up, selling their homes, and relocating to another state to keep their families safe. The extremism that defined our legislative session is not limited to Florida. It is a national tragedy. Politicians pushing attacks on transgender people have now spread their approach to other states, and to the nation's capital.
Politicians like DeSantis are joining forces with special interest groups to exploit transgender children—and increasingly, adults—as a scapegoat to serve their cynical ambitions. Officials in Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Montana, among other states, have spread the dangerous lie that the biggest threat to the safety of American families is LGBTQ people. As next year's presidential elections get closer, these purveyors of hate seem to hope that this lie will be powerful enough to win the White House.
As a parent and an advocate for LGBTQ people in Florida for years, I know that targeting kids and marginalized groups to score points with far-right voters isn't a new strategy. For many families, however, this year feels different.
Parents and their children have endured months of sleepless nights and traumatic political hearings. In the face of these unprecedented attacks, families in Florida have risen to the challenge with remarkable resilience. They've shown up with hope and conviction every time they're called upon to drive long hours or walk through hostile protests to share heartbreaking testimony at the statehouse. The tearful father who "didn't plan to speak" at a legislative hearing, only to deliver a powerful rebuke of the transphobia being spewed from GOP lawmakers. The mother who courageously shared what the state forcibly outing her young child would do to their family.
Throughout the session, the advocates I work with have poured themselves into organizing to ensure as many families as possible can feel seen, supported, and safe. We've even taken the extraordinary step of issuing a travel advisory helping families nationwide weigh risks for their families if they travel or relocate to Florida.
Despite this outcry, politicians continued to drive legislation blocking parents and health care providers from connecting young people with gender-affirming care approved by every major medical association. And make no mistake, the denial of care is not limited to young people: adults are effectively being forcibly detransitioned by our state government. The GOP majority has rubber-stamped every bill DeSantis prioritized. They passed bills barring children from using bathrooms at school, turning every school day into a source of anxiety, discomfort, and shame. They censored teachers and forced them to mislead their students about what has happened in this country. They even threatened to break up families and shatter custody agreements.
Florida advocates and families are still reeling from these attacks. We'll catch our breath, and we'll keep fighting, but we need more allies to step up and join us if we're going to turn the tide nationwide. As DeSantis takes his platform on a cross country tour, we should be aware of the very real threat his tactics pose to everyone in this country.
If it makes you angry that books are being ripped off shelves, consider what it would mean to give an extremist the keys to the Department of Education. If DeSantis' weaponization of state powers to punish Disney makes you cringe, consider an extremist at the helm of the IRS. While those fleeing states like Florida are justifiably seeking safety across state lines, the aspirations of the far-right to enshrine hateful policy at the national level means that none of us are truly safe. Already, these politicians demonstrated their capacity to punish any who get in their way to amass power—children and families included. This is not a Florida problem, this is a national crisis.
Nadine Smith is the executive director of Equality Florida, the leading statewide organization advocating for full equality for LGBTQ+ people.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
