May 23 (UPI) -- More advocacy groups have joined the NAACP in warning marginalized people about traveling to Florida following what the Human Rights Campaign called the state's "most anti-LGBTQ legislative session in history."
HRC and Equality Florida issued an updated travel advisory on Tuesday, two days after the NAACP did the same. The latest advisory comes on the heels of several discriminatory bills that were signed into law last week targeting the rights of the LGBTQ community.
A statement from the HRC said the advisory is not a call to boycott the state. Rather, it warns of the risks involved in traveling to or relocating to Florida, especially for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
"Because of Ron DeSantis and his frenzied appeal to extremists, LGBTQ+ people in Florida are finding themselves in a state of emergency every single day," Kelley Robinson, president of the HRC said in a statement. "Since the day he took office, Gov. DeSantis has weaponized his position to weave bigotry, hate, and discrimination into public law for his own political gain."
Related
DeSantis signed a broad bill package last week that restricts the rights of transgender people to seek gender-affirming care or use the bathroom that matches their identity. Florida has also prohibited discussions on sex and gender identity from public-school classrooms.
Equality Florida has accused DeSantis of attempting to erase the LGBTQ community in the classroom, attacking immigrants and encouraging racial prejudice.
"Governor Ron DeSantis has inflicted deep and lasting damage upon our state, eroding the fundamental rights of our residents and visitors while exploiting the word 'free' as a hollow campaign slogan," Nadine Smith, Equality Florida executive director, said in a statement. "In free states, books are not banned, history remains uncensored, and healthcare is not criminalized. As a parent, I empathize with every family forced to leave Florida in search of accessible healthcare and inclusive schools for their children."
The NAACP issued a travel advisory for Florida over the weekend, citing an environment that has become "openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals."
