Rally pushes back against LGBTQ-focused bills

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

A bevy of bills that have been targeting the LGBTQ community has become so prioritized by the legislature, leading to push back that has been mounting.

While the House and Senate work to finalize some of the bills to be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the resistance has reached a fever pitch. More than 300 drag queens from throughout Florida spent last Tuesday afternoon protesting in Tallahassee.

They started with a rally at Cascades Park, then marched to the Capitol with organizers Darcel Stevens leading the way. Speakers included Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones and Rep. Anna Eskamani, also a Democrat. LGBTQ advocates and transgender men and women also addressed the crowd.

“Today they can no longer say we don’t exist,” said Angelique Young, a renowned transgender woman. “They can’t say we don’t have power in our words, our movement, and our choices. They cannot take anything from us any longer. 

“No bill, no ban will stop us from existing, no bill no ban can stop us from breathing, and no bill no ban can stop us from doing what needs to be done.”

At the heart of the rally is SB 1423, which the House approved two weeks ago. The bill specifically bans venues from hosting “adult live performances” with children in attendance.

In part, the bill says “any show, exhibition, or other presentation that is performed in front of a live audience and in whole or in part, would be considered “adult live performances.”

In March, when SB 1423 was in committee, House Speaker Paul Renner was vehement about the change it would bring.

 “What it is (HB 1423) is a response to an effort, a regrettable effort, by adults, in this case drag queens, who seem to be obsessed with pushing their lifestyle on children,” Renner said early in the legislative session. “So my point, and I think the point of our members and my side of the aisle, is let kids be kids.

Lauren Johnson made the trip to Tallahassee with the organization Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida. She brought along four of her five children, who she said she has taken to drag shows.

“Drag is beautiful. Drag is art,” Johnson said, adding that Bill 1423 is an attempt to take away a right.

“It’s about control,” she said. “It’s about being afraid of something that you maybe don’t understand. It’s about realizing that previous generations could have potentially been wrong about what they thought of people. When you raise a generation of folks that’s loving, compassion and kind, you get amazingly kind people.”

Another issue that is being questioned is SB 1674, which would restrict transgender individuals from using restrooms in government owned buildings. Similar measures are or have been adopted in other Republican-led states.

In anticipation of the anti-drag queen law, some cities in Florida have refused to approve permits for annual pride parades.

“We are not going to stand by and let people destroy our lives,” Democratic senator Linda Stewart of Orlando told the crowd.

“I’m also encouraging every city and county municipality to issue the permit,” Stewart said. “There is nothing wrong with the pride parade. We’ve never done anything inappropriate and we need to make sure we continue our demonstrations and way of living to the public so they could get a better understanding what needs to be legal and not legal. This what they’ve done is unconstitutional.”

Eskamani, who represents the 47th district in Orange County, called the legislators’ focus on the LBGTQ community “dangerous.” Choosing to live a LBGTQ lifestyle is “normal and fabulous,” she said.

Jones, of Miami Gardens who is the first gay person and first LGBTQ Black person elected to the legislature, assured the crowd that “You are not the enemy.”

“You’re supposed to be here and there is nothing wrong with you all,” he said. “In just a few more days we going be alright because this is what democracy looks like.”