Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani and Democratic Sen. Carlos
Guillermo Smith speaking at a press conference in the Capitol on March. 19, 2025 (Photo credit: Mitch Perry / Florida Phoenix)
The Florida Legislature has been not been a friendly environment for the LGTBQ community during the Ron DeSantis era, and on Wednesday some Democratic lawmakers and LGTBQ advocates said that same playbook has now been adopted by the Trump administration.
“Florida has been ground zero in a national escalation of attacks against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and especially the transgender community,” declared Stratton Politizer, co-founder and deputy director of Equality Florida during a news conference the activist group held in the rotunda in the Capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday.
“We’ve been the canary in the coal mine, and that canary is dead,” added Orlando area Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani. “And it’s really, really important for states across the union and for leaders in Congress to look at Florida, not just for the attacks that we’ve faced but how we have fought back together.”
On Donald Trump’s first day back in office in January, the president made it clear what his policies were in this regard when he issued sweeping executive orders proclaiming that the U.S. government would recognize only two sexes, male and female, and that it was ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs inside federal agencies.
A couple of bills attacking DEI are moving in the Florida Legislature this year, such as a measure to prohibit local governments from enacting DEI-related policies, ordinances, or resolutions. It would subject local officials who previously voted for them to removal from office.
Another measure sponsored in the Senate by Pinellas Republican Nick DiCeglie (SB 1710) would ban state agencies from appropriating or using otherwise acquired money to fund a DEI office or officer, as well ban them from applying for federal health care-related grants relating to DEI.
Legislative onslaught
After a flood of anti-LGBTQ bills passed in the 2023 session (the LGBTQ national advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign said that there were six “expressly anti-LGBTQ+ bills” signed into law that year, more than the last seven years combined), Equality Florida officials boasted on Wednesday that of nearly two dozen such bills that targeted the gay and trans community in the 2024 session, all but one failed to pass, and they expressed optimism that there weren’t that many filed so far this year.
“We see it as a hopeful sign that far fewer bills specifically targeting the LGTBQ community have been filed this year,” said Politizer.
“Maybe, just maybe, more legislators are growing tired of the cruelty, the distractions and the endless culture wars pushed by these extremists. Maybe they’re ready to focus on the real challenges that Floridians are facing. But make no mistake, the bills that have been filed are still extraordinarily dangerous, and as long as they’re on the agenda, we will be here to fight them.”
Those bills include measures (SB 100/HB 75) sponsored by Brevard County Republican Randy Fine in the Senate and Republicans David Borrero from Miami-Dade and Berny Jacques from Pinellas that would ban flags representing political viewpoints, such as the Pride flag.
Another measure — which was temporarily postponed on Tuesday with a large contingent present in the committee meeting — is what Equality Florida has dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans at work 2.0.” bill.
This measure, sponsored in the Senate by Ocala Republican Stan McClain (SB 440) and in the House (HB 1495) by Seminole County Republican Rachel Plakon, would enact regulations on use of pronouns in private companies and shield employees from being penalized for intentionally misgendering colleagues.
It would prohibit inclusion of a transgender or nonbinary gender option on any job application or related employment form as well as LGBTQ-related cultural competency training requirements for government workers.
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