As GOP Tramples LGBTQ+ Civil Rights, Community Marches Back
- John Hayden
- March 22, 2023
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In this week’s SFGN, online now and on stands Thursday, I look at efforts to get the message across in Tallahassee.
This is legislative crunch time, when the annual session moves bills from committee to the floor with a vote, often followed by the governor’s signature. Once again, many of those bills focus on LGBT oppression. Couple that with a GOP controlled bureaucracy taking on LGBTQ+ supportive businesses, and these are truly troubling times.
With the Republican super majority in both houses and Governor DeSantis bolstering his extreme credentials for a presidential run, there is little opponents can do to stop him — but they can try. The March In Heels is set for 11am this Sunday, starting at the Pride Center and marching up Wilton Drive. Along the way will be action stations for people to register to vote or re-register for mail-in ballots.. something we have to do every year due to voter suppression efforts by Republicans.
“One of our goals is to make our voices heard in Tallahassee. That’s a long way away and [lawmakers] need to hear that they can’t take away our civil rights.” march co-organizer Bud Beehler told me.
Drag Queens will host each stop, a poignant choice given how fear tactics around drag entertainment are being used to push anti-LGBTQ+ bills. One stop will be at LIT bar. Owner Charles Horton told me, “Drag is a part of our culture and community. We want to do our part in fighting to protect it,”
Participants are encouraged to dress in Pride colors and, if you’re up to it, do the one mile walk in heels to emphasize the point. Wilton Manors City Commissioner Chris Caputo told me, "This is about who we are as a community and we must be heard as a community.”
You can read more of my story and get updates on attacks on LGBTQ+ civil rights at South Florida Gay News dot com now or on stands Thursday.
- Tags: Anti-LGBTQ+, Bills, Business, Drag, Drag Queen, Florida, Gay, GOP, Governor, Law, LGBTQ Rights, LGBTQ+, Pride, Pride Center, Republican, Republicans, SFGN, Tallahassee, Vote, Wilton Manors
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