DeSantis anti-LGBTQ agenda collapsing after failed presidential run. LGBTQ Floridians enjoying the change.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a "war on woke" as the centerpiece of his pursuit of the White House.  After his very unsuccessful presidential campaign, the key part of his plan - an attack on the LGBTQ community via various laws - is collapsing. And LGBTQ Floridians are enjoying the change.

From The Guardian:

 Leaders of Florida’s much-embattled LGBTQ+ communities say the worst of Governor Ron DeSantis’s three-year onslaught against them may be over, with the official start of Pride month celebrations only days away. Evidence has been mounting over the past 12 months of a radical change in the political climate now facing LGBTQ+ people in Florida. 

The first sign came in June 2023 when a federal district court judge in Orlando granted an injunction that prevented the state from enforcing a DeSantis-backed law that prohibited children from attending public performances by drag queens. 

 The first quarter of this year brought more welcome news. In March, the state’s premier advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights announced a settlement with the state over key provisions of the so-called “don’t say gay” law that DeSantis rammed through the Republican-controlled state legislature in 2022. Under the terms of that settlement, the state agreed to reinstate the rights of students and teachers to speak freely in the classroom about LGBTQ+ people, families and issues, according to Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. 

The settlement acknowledged that the law does not prohibit the reading of books or the staging of musicals and plays featuring LGBTQ+ characters in the state’s public schools. 

And then there is this bit of news, which I absolutely adored - the return of drag shows.

. . . A year ago this month, Kristina Bozanich reluctantly canceled an adults-only event at a gym in the central Florida town of St Cloud that would have featured a drag show. The appearance of a road sign in the neighboring community of Lake Nona that read “kill all gays” in the days leading up to the show had prompted the withdrawal of the four drag show performers who had agreed to appear at the event. That put an end to the 2023 Pride month celebrations that had been scheduled to take place in St Cloud on 10 June.

 A year later, the Proud in the Cloud program of events scheduled for 8 June has already received thousands of dollars in corporate contributions. A city council member and lifelong resident of St Cloud named Shawn Fletcher recently issued a proclamation declaring June 2024 to be Pride month in the community of approximately 67,000 people.

 “The drag ban is no longer enforced, and we have so much more backing, including from local law enforcement,” marvels the 32-year-old Bozanich. “I’ve been shocked – but in a good way.”

 

While this does not mean everything is sunshine and roses for LGBTQ Floridians, it does demonstrate yet again how resilient our community is and how we win when we fight together instead of backing down.