More Left-Wing Groups Tell Liberals To Stay Out Of Florida

April 14, 2023 in News by RBN Staff

 

Source: Tampa Free Press

More left-wing groups are now urging their followers to stay out of Florida. Earlier this week, the LGBTQ group Equality Florida joined the state NAACP chapter to proclaim the Sunshine State unsafe under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

It’s difficult to see how encouraging more liberals to stay out of Florida would convince conservatives to change course.

Nonetheless, in a statement issued earlier this week, Equality Florida claimed it was taking the “extraordinary step” of issuing a travel warning about the alleged risks posed to the “health, safety, and freedom” of those considering traveling or relocating to the state.

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Equality Florida claimed it received a “wave of safety inquiries” after the state enacted 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.”

None of that is true, by the way.

Still, in a statement, Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith said, “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.”

“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,” she added.

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“We understand everyone must weigh the risks and decide what is best for their safety, but whether you stay away, leave or remain we ask that you join us in countering these relentless attacks. Help reimagine and build a Florida that is truly safe for and open to all, and where freedom is a reality, not a hollow campaign slogan.”

Smith’s comment is disingenuous.

It’s clear that she, like thousands of other liberals, won’t leave the state no matter the effect of what she calls DeSantis’ “extremist policies.”

Smith noted that the left-wing Florida Immigrant Coalition, a group of 65 member organizations that support more illegal immigration, and the Florida chapters of the NAACP also have issued similar warnings about the “risk” of traveling or relocating to the state.

In response, the pro-DeSantis Twitter account DeSantis War Room offered, “LGBTQ activists, illegal immigration advocates, and NAACP all failed in their years-long quest to stop Gov. DeSantis from enacting commonsense policies. Now they’re ALL warning against travel to Florida. Cool! Go vacation somewhere ‘safer’… Chicago? Baltimore? San Francisco?”