'Say Gay' Billboards Poised to Take Over Florida in Protest
With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis intent on signing the state's "Don't Say Gay" bill into law, billboards protesting the legislation are poised to pop up all over the state.
As reported by Business Insider, the left-leaning super PAC, Southern Progress, has been placing the defiant billboards in Florida cities of Tallahassee, Orlando, and Jacksonville. The group plans to add more as its fundraising for the initiative increases.
"Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans have pissed us all off," tweeted Adam Parkhomenko, a Virginia-based Democratic strategist working on the campaign, with a photo of the ads. "So this week we are going to cover the state of Florida in these, in response."
Southern Progress co-founder Amanda Crumley called the slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills happening around the country "an unconscionable, dangerous, and coordinated attack on LGBTQ Americans."
"And don't be fooled," Crumley told Insider, "these types of bills have nothing to do with protecting children and everything to do with discrimination and filling GOP coffers in an election year."
The impending "Don't Say Gay" legislation has caused many celebrities to speak out against its intentions, including Gabrielle Union, who took the time to call out Disney while at a premiere for her new movie on Disney+.
LGBTQ Disney employees have also criticized Disney CEO Bob Chapek for how he handled the company's response to the bill and have urged him to take a greater role in stopping the legislation.
However, it's not just Florida where LGBTQ+ rights and protections are under attack. The Human Rights Campaign is tracking some 266 bills that it considers "anti-LGBTQ+."
Around 125 of those bills directly target transgender people and nearly half of those — more than 57 bills — would ban transgender youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, according to HRC.