Joining the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, the NAACP and these other groups have decided that Florida is bad for minorities. Announced over the weekend of May 20th/21st, they believe the laws and policies of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and FL lawmakers are being made against African Americans, Latinos, and members of the LGTBQ community.
In a statement on the 20th, the NAACP’s board of directors issued a statement to tourists, informing them that Florida “devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.” With 137.5 million tourists per year, the state has been welcoming and loving people from all walks of life for ages.
And why wouldn’t they? Thanks to these millions of tourists, Floridians enjoy no state income tax, 1.6 million full-time jobs, and $98.9 billion in revenue to the state (as of 2019) all thanks to tourism.
In response to the warnings from the NAACAP, mayors from across the state issued tweets welcoming everyone to the state, with the mayors of Tampa and St Petersburg reminding people that EVERYONE is welcome in the Tampa Bay area. If you’ve ever been in the area, you’ll have seen this welcoming attitude firsthand, and the mayors nailed it.
The timing for a message like this from the NAACP is not uncommon. With Gov DeSantis denying a push for the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies course back in January, they were already upset. Now, with his continued push against classes focusing on diversity, equality, inclusion, and critical race theory, it was only a matter of time till they spoke up. When he passed the Stop WOKE Act, the restrictions on certain race-based conversations and analytics in schools and businesses infuriated them.
LULAC, on the other hand, cited immigration law changes. Specifically, the new law prohibits local governments from providing money for organizations that seek to get illegals their identification, as well as making out-of-state licenses held by illegal immigrants invalid in the state of Florida. With the addition of hospitals being forced to question citizenship when accepting Medicaid for treatment, they believe it will prevent illegals from getting necessary medical care.
For their end, the LGTBQ objections are due to Gov DeSantis limiting the LGTBQ discussions in school, removing books with explicit gay characters and illustrations from school library shelves, banning gender-affirming care for minors, and the allowance of permitless carry in the state of Florida.
According to Equality Florida’s advisory “Taken in their totality, Florida’s slate of laws and policies targeting basic freedoms and rights pose a serious risk to the health and safety of those traveling to the state.”
Unfortunately for these groups, nothing about these laws is discriminatory by race, gender, creed, or sexual orientation.
All these laws are saying is that Floridians want to keep the people of Florida safe from those who wish to do them harm or do the wrong thing. The objections to the way Florida is run are coming from those who want to reframe history and turn it into a blame whitey fest. Plus those who hate being held responsible for their decision to come here illegally, and those who want an opportunity to sexualize kids as early as possible.
If anything, Florida is one of the safest places for minorities. The state is ethnically diverse, there is no land border being invaded by terrorists and cartel members, the economy is strong, and people love their neighbors. It is the perfect place to visit and an even better place to call home.
Perhaps if those objecting to the FL laws got out of Miami and Disney World, they would see how much these laws help the state and just how awesome the Sunshine State is for those who call it home. Much like Alaska, Montana, or even California, it’s not for everyone.
