Any vacationers, especially those in the LGBTQ community, who may be seeking a possible getaway to Florida should know a change has occurred. Be aware that the LGBTQ travel section on Florida’s official promotional tourist website has vanished. This seems to be the latest development in Florida’s seemingly endless campaign to censor LGBTQ information. The fallout of this may be putting potential tourists at risk, as well as the unintended consequence of threatening Florida’s economic impact.
Come Out With Pride
Come Out With Pride, Orlando’s biggest event catering to the LGBTQ community, will be held on October 19th. Spotlighting its 20th anniversary this year, the festival brings in thousands of tourists each year. The executive director of Come Out With Pride, Tatiana Quiroga, stated, “Come Out With Pride is literally the largest single event that happens here in Orlando and in Orange County,” in an interview with WESH News.
The Problem
However, any information regarding Come Out With Pride, or any other LGBTQ event for that matter, has been eliminated from Florida’s tourist website, visit Florida.com. Eliminated are details concerning LGBTQ-friendly events, shops, beaches, and other things catering to LGBTQ tourists. Visit Florida.com has not given any explanation as to why information regarding LGBTQ events is gone from the site despite representatives initially showing interest in promoting Come Out With Pride.
“They said it would be great to put Come Out With Pride on their website. So now, a couple of weeks later, hearing that the entire section has been taken down is sad. Unfortunately, it adds to everything that has been happening in our state,” Quiroga stated in the same interview. Though dismayed at the LGBTQ section of visit Florida.com getting removed, the decision does not come as a surprise to Quiroga. “So, to know that folks can’t use Visit Florida as a resource to find information, it’s really sad and disappointing,” she said.
Florida’s “No Gay Sentiment”
Florida has been making waves in the news recently with its recent slew of attempts to censor LGBTQ information on a public scale. Not the least of these saw Governor Ron DeSantis duke a legal battle with one of Florida’s biggest employers, (and taxpayers) Disney, in the court. Governor DeSantis is also notorious for passing what has become nationally known as the Don’t Say Gay bill, which seeks to eliminate discussion of LGBTQ topics, sexuality, gender identity, and LGBTQ families in school.
Other activities, like banning drag shows, have not surprisingly had a negative effect on the LGBTQ community in Florida. With visitFlorida.com taking down the LGBTQ+ travel section, it seems that these policies are expanding to the lives of possible tourists in the area, which can only start to impede economic growth, meaning consequences for the locals.
Conclusion
Despite this, the Floridian LGBTQ community is undeterred. Shops remain open. Restaurants continue serving. And events continue on in the face of potential harassment or even bodily harm, leading from the unstoppable, collective strength the LGBTQ community has proven historically time and time again. Quiroga echoed this sentiment, saying, “We will always persevere and march on. This is who we are and what we do.”
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