inclusion: Last News

The sunny state of Florida has long been a draw for many members of the LGBTQ community, particularly those from cold Northeast states who flock there in winter.

With temperatures cooling off, the annual migration is underway, despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his agenda attacking queer rights. Florida’s hostile environment has a long history, including the failed attempt by Anita Bryant to keep gay teachers out of the Miami school district some 40 years ago.

That homophobic tradition continues. In addition to the current administration’s draconian “Don’t Say Gay” law, and DeSantis’s threats to Disney World in Orlando, the LGBTQ section was recently removed from the Visit Florida website.

Travel is perhaps the most important industry for much of Florida, especially the Southeast and many gay couples decide to retire to the land of eternal summer permanently. Then there are those who flock to “winter” in the state.

Tony Adams is a journalist, editor, playwright, and former contributor to the South Florida Gay News. In 2016, he published a book, “Ending Anita: How Two Key West Bartenders Won Gay Marriage for Florida.” He and his husband spend time there every winter. But he finally had enough.

“I didn’t like paying taxes to the DeSantis administration,” he said. “I sold my place in Fort Lauderdale.”

But he cautions against an all out boycott of the state.

“If we desert Florida now, we are depriving our LGBTQ+ businesses of the revenue they need to stay alive,” he said. “For that reason, I still visit Florida whenever I can, especially Key West and stay at the Island House. … Florida has a long tradition of homophobia in politics. In my book I assembled timelines of hatred going back to the 1977 campaign of Anita Bryant against gay teachers in public schools. Floridians get angry and then come to their senses, but maybe it’s just the flatness of the Florida terrain that allows that pendulum to swing more violently than in other states.”

The Blade reached out

Ron Desantis Anita Bryant