state neWs

DesantIs vetoes funDIng for pulse survIvors, lgBtQ Youth In BuDget

Jeremy Williams

OrLando | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a total of $900,000 from the 2021 state budget June 2 that was intended to support those impacted by the Pulse tragedy as well as fund transitional housing for LGBTQ homeless youth.

The budget allocated $150,000 to the LGBT+ Center Orlando for its Orlando United Assistance Center (OUAC), which serves and supports the immediate family members of the 49 individuals taken in the Pulse tragedy and the survivors. The Center incorporated OUAC under its purview of existing services last October. The funds were specifically for counseling and case management services for victims affected by the Pulse tragedy.

A total of $750,000 had also been allocated in the budget for Zebra Coalition’s youth housing project which provides temporary housing for LGBTQ youth, ages 18-24.

The funds were added to the 2021 state budget by State Sen. Linda Stewart earlier this year.

DeSantis’ vetoing of the nearly $1 million worth of funds for LGBTQ projects fell on the second day of LGBTQ Pride Month and one day after he signed into law the anti-LGBTQ “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” detailed to the right. Several state political leaders took to social media to express outrage over DeSantis using the first two days of LGBTQ Pride Month to publicize his support for anti-LGBTQ policies, including openly LGBTQ State Reps. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando and Michele Rayner of Tampa Bay.

“Governor Ron DeSantis uses the second day of #Pride2021 to add insult to our injury after his attack on trans youth in sports,” Smith shared via social media. “Mental health funding to support Pulse Orlando survivors has been VETOED just days before the 5-year remembrance. Zebra Coalition funding for LGBTQ homeless youth has been VETOED. Once again, with Governor DeSantis, cruelty is the point.”

“Today, on the 1st day of Pride Month, instead of choosing to embrace everyone, especially the LGBTQ community, the Governor has chosen to attack trans kids, our most vulnerable citizens,” Rayner added. “He has chosen political theater over protecting children and his political ambitions over the wide variety of voices asking him to veto this hateful bill. While I am discouraged … this does not hinder my commitment to fight for an equitable Florida that embraces everyone and celebrates them for who they are.”

On Twitter, Pulse survivor and LGBTQ activist Brandon Wolf shared a photo DeSantis greeting him at Pulse in 2019. He noted that the governor was “standing on hallowed ground, promising me that he would always support those of us impacted by the Pulse nightclub shooting. Today, he vetoed mental health services for us. I will never forget.”

antI-lgBtQ BIll sIgneD as prIDe month BegIns

Ryan Williams-Jent

JackSonviLLe, FLa. | Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the anti-LGBTQ Senate Bill 1028 (SB 1028) into law at the Trinity Christian Academy June 1.

The legislation was passed April 28 and targets transgender youth. It bans the vulnerable population from playing sports that align with their gender identity, a discriminatory measure DeSantis first publicly supported April 30 on Fox News.

“The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act will empower Florida women and girls to be able to compete on a level playing field,” the governor shared via social media after his June 1 signing ceremony. “This will help ensure that opportunities for things like college scholarships will be protected for female athletes for years to come.”

After the signing, DeSantis was asked by local press about the message the bill sends to LGBTQ Floridians during Pride Month.

“First of all, it’s not a message to anything other than we’re going to protect fairness in women’s sports,” he responded. “We believe that it’s important to have integrity in the competition and we think it’s important that they be able to compete on a level playing field, and you’ve seen what’s happened when you don’t have that.”

The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus quickly condemned the bill. Caucus President Stephen Gaskill called it “shameful that Governor DeSantis chose the first day of Pride Month to sign the discriminatory trans sports ban into law.

“This transphobic legislation aims to fix a problem that doesn’t exist, and instead harms children just wanting to play sports,” he continued. “It’s clear the governor and his Republican enablers in the Legislature are dismissive of Florida’s large and visible LGBTQ+ community.”

Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus Region 2 Regional Director Joshua Hicks, a Jacksonville local, also condemned the legislation.

“Jacksonville is a welcoming and inclusive city governed by a human rights ordinance that bans discrimination based on gender identity and expression,” he shared. “It’s shameful and disgusting that Governor DeSantis chose our community to sign discrimination into law on the first day of Pride Month.”

Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ-focused civil rights organization, subsequently condemned the governor’s actions. They noted that SB 1028 is “the first explicitly anti-LGBTQ bill signed into law since 1997.”

“Even after hearing directly from trans kids and their parents about the real harms felt from this anti-trans sports ban, Governor DeSantis proudly put his signature on this hateful bill – joining ultra-conservative states like Mississippi and West Virginia who have shamefully done the same,” Equality Florida Senior Political Director Joe Saunders shared.

“This cruel law bans all transgender girls – as young as middle school kids – from participating in school sports and kicks existing players off their team,” he continued. “It’s deeply harmful to already at-risk transgender children: who are some of the most bullied and marginalized in our school systems.”

To show their support for transgender youth across the state, Equality Florida hosted a number of rallies to #LetKidsPlay. More than 100 current and former elected officials throughout the state had previously urged DeSantis to do the same on May 12, demanding he veto SB 1028.

For more information about the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus and Equality Florida’s mission and efforts to protect trans youth, visit LGBTQDems.org and EQFL.org.

fort lauDerDale to host 44th annual prIDe

Everitt Rosen via South Florida Gay News

Fort LaUderdaLe, FLa. | Fort Lauderdale has announced that it will be hosting its 2021 Pride Festival Nov. 20-21 on Fort Lauderdale’s beach, featuring a theme of “Glitter and Gratitude.”

“As we enter our 44th year as Florida’s first LGBTQ Pride festival, we are reminded of how far we’ve come and how much we have to be grateful for,” Pride Fort Lauderdale President Miik Martorell said. “The LGBTQ community has seen significant changes in our community and in society and this year’s theme, Glitter and Gratitude, honors those accomplishments.”

With hundreds of LGBTQ-owned and operated businesses and the highest concentration of same-sex households in the country, Fort Lauderdale welcomes 1.5 million LGBTQ visitors annually. This tourism brings in a large amount of revenue for Greater Fort Lauderdale, with an average of $1.5 billion.

Greater Fort Lauderdale features one of the country’s main Pride Centers, the world’s first AIDS museum, the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s (IGLTA) global headquarters and the Stonewall Museum, one of the country’s few permanent spaces dedicated to exhibits related to LGBTQ heritage and culture.

On Nov. 18, Pride will present the Pride Runway Fashion Show at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which will include designs by alumni from Bravo’s Project Runway along with local designers. On Nov. 20-21, there will be a two-day beach festival that will include a street parade, three stages of entertainment, 150 vendors, headlining performances and sunset concerts.

Pride 2021 has also partnered with AIDS Healthcare Foundation to feature an Afro Pride stage for performances during the weekend. Trans Pride is a celebration within Pride Fort Lauderdale’s festival that will feature local trans-led organizations, businesses and resources. This year, the festival will focus on highlighting local trans programs and services that can assist the LGBT community in recovering from the pandemic.

For more information, visit PrideFortLauderdale.org.