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'Hostile' DeSantis policies lead Florida LGBTQ group to warn state may not be safe to visit, live in; state NAACP issued similar travel advisory
Pride Parade at Miami Beach Pride Festival, Sept. 19, 2021 (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

'Hostile' DeSantis policies lead Florida LGBTQ group to warn state may not be safe to visit, live in; state NAACP issued similar travel advisory

Citing "hostile" policies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida LGBTQ group issued a warning that the state may not be safe to live in or visit.

What are the details?

Equality Florida on Wednesday said it "took the unprecedented step of issuing a travel advisory to individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and students warning that Florida may not be a safe place to visit or take up residence."

The organization added that the travel advisory "comes after passage of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, restrict access to reproductive health care, repeal gun safety laws, allow untrained, unpermitted carry, and foment racial prejudice."

DeSantis "has also weaponized state agencies to impose sanctions against businesses large and small that disagree with his attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion," Equality Florida also said.

"Florida has recently adopted a slate of hateful laws, and is fast-tracking additional measures that directly target the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and basic freedoms broadly," the memo from the organization continued. "Already, those policies have led Florida parents to consider relocating, prospective students to cross Florida colleges and universities off their lists, events and conferences to cancel future gatherings, and the United States military to offer redeployment for service members whose families are now unsafe in the state."

Equality Florida said the DeSantis measures have led to "assaults on medical freedom," "assaults on academic freedom," "censorship and erasure of the LGBTQ community," "assaults on arts, entertainment, and sports participation," "assaults on business," "efforts to stir up racial prejudice," the "repealing of gun safety laws," and "attacks on immigrant communities."

Statement follows similar one from Florida NAACP

Earlier this month, Florida's NAACP said it wants its national board to urge black people to avoid visiting or moving to the state because of DeSantis' policies and actions.

“This man is working to remove the word ‘diversity’ altogether,” Yvette Lewis, president of the NAACP Hillsborough County Branch, told Yahoo! News, presumably in reference to DeSantis. “Just when we think we have arrived, they kick us and knock us down. And this isn’t just a black person’s issue, it’s an everyone issue.”

DeSantis called the NAACP travel advisory a “joke,” the outlet said.

“We will see how effective that is,” the governor added, according to Yahoo! News. “Our country goes through all these stupid fights. This is a stunt to try to do that.”

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