Vacationers Warned Against Visiting FL By LGBTQ, Immigration Groups

FLORIDA — LGBTQ and immigration advocacy groups have joined the NAACP in issuing a travel warning for Florida.

Equality Florida, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, warns visitors “of the risks posed to the health, safety and freedom of those considering short- or long-term travel or relocation to the state,” according to a news release.

“The move comes in response to a wave of safety inquiries Equality Florida has received following the passage of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ community, restrict access to reproductive health care, repeal gun safety laws, foment racial prejudice, and attack public education by banning books and censoring curriculum,” the organization said.

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The Florida Immigrant Coalition, a statewide immigrant rights coalition of 65 member organizations and more than 100 allies, also issued an emergency travel advisory this week, urging visitors “to reconsider travel to Florida due to unconstitutional laws targeted at immigrant communities which abuse civil liberties.”

According to the coalition’s advisory poster, “Every county in Florida represents a high risk of unlawful detainment and potential family separation.”

At a statewide conference in Orlando last month, NAACP member organizations unanimously supported a recommendation to the national NAACP board to issue a travel advisory to Florida because of state policies and “anti-Black legislation,” according to News Nation.

The suggested travel advisory is a response to a push by Gov. Ron DeSantis to ban diversity and inclusion initiatives in schools and the workplace, as well the banning of a new AP African American studies course from the College Board, among other policies, reports said.

DeSantis called the travel warning “a joke” and “a stunt,” according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

"Our country, you know, it goes through all these — we get involved in these stupid fights," the governor said. "This is a stunt to try to do that. It's a pure stunt, and fine if you want to waste your time on a stunt, that's fine. Look, I mean, I'm not wasting my time on your stunts. Okay. I'm gonna make sure that we're getting good things done here. And we're gonna continue to make this state a great state."

“We fought very hard to get diversity, to get inclusion,” Isaiah Rumlin, NAACP Jacksonville chapter president, told News4Jax. “We fought very hard for voting rights. All of these policies and laws are trying to revert back to where we were in the past.”

"The recommendation from our Florida State Conference is a clear indication of just how egregious Governor DeSantis' actions are. Any attempt to intentionally erase or misrepresent Black History is a direct attack on the foundation of comprehensive education,” Leon W. Russell, Florida NAACP board chair, said in a statement after the vote. "Be clear — Black history is American history. We are proud of our Florida State Conference for meeting this moment with the equal aggression and intention that is a necessary response to these attacks. Any location in America where our history has been erased does not offer us, or our children, a bright future."

The national NAACP board will begin its review of the suggested travel advisory, submitted as a resolution by the Florida board, in May, according to a news release from the organization.

In an email to supporters, Nadine Smith, Equality Florida’s executive director, referred to recent laws passed in the Sunshine State and other decisions made by state officials as “Gov. DeSantis’ Slate of Hate.”

According to Equality Florida’s travel warning, these include:

• the passage of a six-week abortion ban,
• moves to strip diversity, equity and inclusion programs at colleges and universities,
• book challenges and bans in classrooms,
• the prohibition of classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity,
• the repeal of gun safety laws and
• policies banning access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

“As an organization that has spent decades working to improve Florida’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place to live work and visit, it is with great sadness that we must respond to those asking if it is safe to travel to Florida or remain in the state as the laws strip away basic rights and freedoms,” Smith said. “While losing conferences, and top students who have written off Florida threatens lasting damage to our state, it is most heartbreaking to hear from parents who are selling their homes and moving because school censorship, book bans and health care restrictions have made their home state less safe for their children.”