New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced an ad campaign aimed at persuading gay Florida residents who are upset about a new law that critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to move to the Big Apple.
“Today, we tell families who live in fear of state-sponsored discrimination that you will always have a home in New York City,” Adams said, noting that Florida Law which prohibits “classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity at certain grade levels or in a specified manner” in state public schools.
Adams said At a press conference with LGBTQ advocates and city lawmakers that the measure is “the latest shameful and extreme culture war targeting the LGBTQ+ community” he announced a campaign calling on Florida residents to “come to a city where you can say and be whoever you want.”
“We want you here in New York,” the mayor said.
“This is the city of Stonewall. This is the city where we take pride in talking about how you can live in a comfortable environment and not be harassed or abused – not only as adults but also as young adults.
The mayor’s office said the advertising campaign, which will include digital rainbow-studded billboards and a push on social media, began on Monday and will run through May 29. It targets five cities – Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach – and is expected to attract 5 million views. Adams told reporters at a press conference that the campaign was paid for through company donations.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last month signed off on the state’s measure titled Parental Rights in Education Act.
“The bill prohibits classroom teaching about sexuality or things like ‘transgender’ at K through three classrooms,” DeSantis said when signing the law, adding that it would ensure that “parents can send their children to school for education, not indoctrination.” ”
Parents will be able to sue school districts for damages or attorneys’ fees for alleged violations when the bill takes effect July 1.
The new Florida law has sparked months of protests across the country since its introduction in January, with Hollywood actors, corporate executives and the White House opposing it.
Sponsors of the bill have repeatedly stressed that the measure will not prevent students from talking about their LGBTQ families or classroom discussions about LGBTQ history, including events such as the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, an Orlando gay nightclub. Instead, the measure would ban “instructions” of sexual orientation or gender identity, they said, without providing examples of what that might entail during a House and Senate debate.
Opponents say the legislation unfairly targets the LGBTQ community and that its “broad and vague” language will prevent young people and educators from speaking openly about themselves and their families. They also argue that the legislation could open up boycotts to lawsuits from parents who believe any conversation about LGBTQ individuals or issues is inappropriate.
Last week, a group of more than a dozen students, parents, teachers and advocates filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the state Board of Education, claiming that the law “will stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBT people in Florida public schools.”
DeSantis’ office did not respond to a request for comment on the New York City campaign, but his press secretary, Cristina Buchou, mocked the initiative on Twitter.
“If anyone is against it Tweet embed To stand up for parental rights they leave for a crime-ridden dystopia, Florida would be better off without it,” I wrote.
Adams, an outspoken LGBTQ ally has come under fire for naming appointees History of homophobic comments During his first three months in office, he said that advertising and campaign content were paid for by private companies, and that taxpayers did not pay anything for the initiative.
Speaking at Monday’s press conference, LGBTQ activist Allen Roscoff praised Adams’ efforts and urged the mayor to hang posters at every New York City school for Pride Month in June and to mandate that LGBTQ history be taught in all city schools.
“Our students in this city still feel threatened and intimidated and are afraid to go out,” Roscoff said. “In fact, many teachers who go to their classmates are afraid to go out to their students.”
“We have a lot of work to do,” he added.
Last week, US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona met with LGBT students and parents in Florida and issued a statement saying the Department of Education would “monitor” the law as it is implemented and “assess whether it violates federal civil rights law.”
Lawmakers in several other states — including in Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas and Indiana — are weighing measures similar to the Florida law.
Last year, DeSantis attempted to lure New Yorkers to Florida, and led a campaign to Temptation of the New York Police Department and other police officers who underwent vaccination warrants or other abuse, he said, to move to Florida by offering $5,000 bonuses. “We are proud in Florida of being a state where people in uniform know they are appreciated,” he said at the time.
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