As LGBTQ+ Residents Flee Florida, State GOP Chair Cheers

Responding to a report that a significant number of Florida residents considered leaving the state over its "Don't Say Gay" law – even as a number of LGBTQ+ residents have begun fleeing to more welcoming places – Christian Ziegler, the chair of the state's GOP, derided those who disagree with the divisive measure as "perverted."

In comments to right-wing newspaper the Washington Examiner, Ziegler called those who disagreed with the law "perverted," accused them of "support[ing] the sexualization of kids during school in grades as early as kindergarten," and added, "I would agree that Florida is probably not the best fit for them."

The Advocate recalled that research from the Williams Institute "showed three out of five parents surveyed in the state have considered leaving" Florida in the wake of the controversial law, which criminalizes mention of LGBTQ+ people or issues affecting them in the state's classrooms. A recent expansion of the law, which was initially passed last year, extended the ban from third grade all the way through high school. Critics say the law – which puts a bounty on the public school system by encouraging parents to sue – silences and marginalizes LGBTQ+ staff and students.

The report, by Abbie E. Goldberg, "found 40 percent of those interviewed considered leaving the state following the passage of the bill, including 53 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of independents," The Advocate relayed.

Ziegler's comments overlooked other nuances of what the study uncovered.

"Those who disagreed with the Act emphasized their belief that children needed to learn about gender and sexuality and all types of people," Goldberg's report, titled "Perspectives of Florida Parents on HB1557, the Parental Rights in Education Act," noted.

"They also voiced concern about a push towards fascism within their state and government overreach."

Goldberg, in a statement, said that "It is important to understand the diverse viewpoints Florida parents have around the state's Don't Say Gay law."

"These parents live in the same neighborhoods and send their children to the same schools," Goldberg added. "They have the power to work across differences to build strong communities that support the well-being of all children."

"Don't Say Gay" is only one of a slate of laws Florida's GOP majority, under the governorship of Ron DeSantis, has passed. Other laws target how U.S. history is taught, censor discussions of race in both school and business settings, attack DEI initiatives, and seek to punish venues that host drag shows, lumping the time-honored theatrical tradition with "sexually explicit" adult entertainment without regard to the actual content of drag shows.

UK newspaper the Independent reported earlier this year that, according Danielle Olivani, the head of Lake County Pride, the state's policies attacking sexual and racial minorities have worked to drive a "mass migration" elsewhere.

Gov. DeSantis and the state's GOP lawmakers have also demonstrated a willingness to quash dissent, using the power of government to punish Disney when the company – Florida's largest single private employer – publicly criticized "Don't Say Gay."

That move led to Disney canceling the creation of a new campus that would have brought thousands of jobs to Florida from California – and also drew criticisms from Republican former high officials, who slammed DeSantis' weaponization of government power against Disney as being "severely damaging to the political, social, and economic fabric of the State."

Other states have taken notice of how Florida's laws have affected the business and social climate there, with Massachusetts putting up billboards to encourage LGBTQ+ people leaving the Sunshine State to consider relocating to the Commonwealth, and even fellow red states Texas and North Carolina openly courting Disney to move its world-famous theme part out of Florida.

Openly gay Colorado governor Jared Polis, too, invited Disney to jettison ties with Florida, whose "authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away," as Gov. Polis declared last year.