'State of Emergency' Declared For LGBTQ+ People By Human Rights Campaign
report also took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, for "weaponizing his position as a lawmaker to target LGBTQ+ families, Black and brown Floridians, immigrants and private businesses."The bills introduced nationwide are not just about the laws but also threaten the way the LGBTQ+ community's members are treated in general society, John Sovec, a California-based psychotherapist and author who has written about LGBTQ+ topics, told Newsweek via phone.He believes the current backlash is reactionary to both the legalization of same-sex marriage across the country, as well as the laying of the groundwork in the 1980s during the Ronald Reagan administration."A lot of them are passing, but what this is also doing is opening up language and vitriol and hate and assault on the community," Sovec said. "We're looking at stepping in at local school levels and banning books about LGBTQ+ identity.
It's almost like you're trying to make our community disappear."And that's a really fearful place to be...As I read these bills passing it brings up anxiety inside of me.
You know, some of the places I traveled to speak to—am I going to be safe there? That is not a feeling I've had for most of my life as this openly queer man."The HRC warning comes as a slew of conservative boycotts have put LGBTQ+ individuals in the crosshairs, including notable brands like Bud Light and Target—which have been greatly affected with negative market value due to a galvanizing on the right.Sovec expects the heat to continue to smolder due to the current election cycle now being in full swing."This is going to continue building," he said.
