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The largest LGBTQ rights group in the US issued a travel alert for Florida on Tuesday, joining other civil rights groups in stating that recently passed laws and practices may put minorities, immigrants, and homosexual visitors at risk.
The Human Rights Campaign issued relocation or travel advisories for the Sunshine State, one of the most visited states in the nation, alongside the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and Equality Florida.
The LGBTQ advocacy group emphasized that it was not advocating a general boycott of Florida or advising people not to travel there, but rather wanted to draw attention to new laws that they claimed were hostile to the LGBTQ community, restricted access to abortion, and allowed Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a license.
“Those who visit must join us in their vocal opposition to these dangerous policies,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “Those who pick another place to work, to go to school or to spend their vacation should make clear why they’re not heading to Florida.”
The NAACP, the oldest civil rights group in the country, warned last weekend that the recent laws and policies supported by Florida lawmakers and Governor Ron DeSantis are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
According to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism development organization, more than 137.5 million people visited Florida last year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. According to data from the previous year, tourism supports 1.6 million full- and part-time jobs, and visitors spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019.
