 Earlier this year civil rights organizations like the NAACP and Equality Florida issued travel advisories to Americans considering a trip to Florida in the wake of anti-black and anti-LGBTQ plus policies that have been enacted by the state's Republican Party recently. Now it's gotten so bad that some people who live in Florida have decided to leave the state permanently. For example, the McKee family explained to CNN that they're leaving because they feel like they have no choice because they have a trans daughter who they want to protect. We're absolutely moving because of the political climate and the laws in Florida. We didn't want to move. When the Florida Board of Medicine started meeting and we realized that they were going to ban gender-affirming care for our kids, that we might need to leave because that is life-saving essential medicine and treatment for our daughter. And that family is not alone because the UCLA Williams Institute spoke to 106 parents specifically about the state's don't-say-gay law and subsequent expansion and this is what they found. In response to that law, quote, 40% of the sample said they would like to move out of Florida, 20% very much so, and 19% somewhat. An additional 15% felt mixed about moving with 45% not wishing to move. Almost 11% said that they were very likely to move in the next two years with an additional 6% saying that this was somewhat likely. Next to leaving included jobs, extended family, and the hassle of moving. See, and that's the thing right there. Even if you want to move, it is very difficult to do so, especially if you don't have the resources. But even if you have money, leaving behind your friends and your family and having to find a new job, that's just something that most people don't want to have to do unless they feel like they absolutely have to. But regardless, 11% of parents said that they were very likely to move within the next two years specifically because of the state's anti-queer policies. Now, that is not an insignificant number, right? And this is a small sample size, but still, 11%. That's huge. And even though support for that law is largely partisan, even a small number of Republicans are saying that they're considering leaving the state as well. The Washington Examiner reports, Abby Goldberg, the study's author, shared with the Washington Examiner that 53% of Democratic respondents had indicated that they had considered leaving the state, along with 40% of independents and 15% of Republicans. In contrast, 80% of Republicans said they have not considered leaving the state, along with 33% of Democrats and 40% of independents. And to be clear, the Washington Examiner is a right wing rag. But if they're reporting these numbers and they're not trying to hide it, that goes to show you how bad the situation is in Florida, right? It doesn't make any member of the GOP look good. And any sane political party would take that as a sign that their policies have been a colossal failure, but not the GOP, because they're not a sane party. Because in response to this finding, the chair of the Florida Republican Party, Christian Ziegler, is essentially telling these families who are fleeing good riddance. So the Washington Examiner continues, over 60% of voters support the actual language and the law, including 55% of Democrats. Christian Ziegler, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party, told the Washington Examiner, with that said, if a Democrat voter is passionate and perverted enough to support the sexualization of kids during school and grades as earliest kindergarten, then I would agree that Florida is probably not the best fit for them. And I just want to remind you again, this is the chairman of the Florida State Republican Party. And what he says that these parents support the sexualization of kids, it's just kids finding out that creep people exist, that their teacher might be trans or gay. That's it. Nobody's trying to teach their children to be gay. That's that's not how it works, first of all. But that's not happening, right? And he's calling these families who are having to flee or wanting to flee perverted and accusing them of supporting the sexualization of children when he knows that that's not what they support. But there's a reason why so-called anti-Grumah Republicans always resort to hyperbole and smears and never engage with the real criticisms. It's because their arguments only sound compelling if you lie to get people to support them and use strongman arguments against their opponents. But in response to this Williams Institute study making them look bad from a policy standpoint, he tried to spin this and went on the offensive against Democrats sharing an interview that he did with CBS Miami, where he says that it's actually, quote, sane voters who are fleeing the Democratic Party. Oh, OK. And they're the ones hurting because they're, quote, vile support for indoctrination, sexualization and mutilation of our children. I don't know about you, but that sounds like cope to me. You know, if these families want to flee, let them flee. But really, who's being fleered from is the Democratic Party. Voters are fleeing from them, see? Now, he also went on to argue in that clip that the Democratic Party is in shambles because they don't support the same draconian and fascistic policies that the Republican Party supports. And he's referring specifically to the state Democratic Party. But let's watch their problem is their radical agenda that they're trying to sell to Floridians that Floridians aren't just rejecting. They are fleeing from and you were seeing this mass exodus from the Democrat Party where people are registering as sometimes as independence. And then eventually they become Republicans or they're jumping right over to the Republican side because this is not the Democrat Party of their grandparents of JFK. They don't even recognize it. A lot of Democrats don't even recognize their party today with just how radical it has become. Listen, I will never defend the Florida State Democratic Party because they are terrible, they're terrible for different reasons, but they just don't care about winning, it seems. Having said that, though, I mean, he's very obviously deflecting. I feel like everyone can see that. Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot. Imagine if a large percentage of residents in Florida were or wanted to flee the state as a direct result of the Democratic Party's policies. And to make matters worse, the leader of the state Democratic Party came out and said, well, good riddance, let them leave their perverts. Can you imagine what the GOP would say? They would endlessly blast those Democrats and rightfully so. But because the Republicans are the fascists who are driving Floridians away, their only go-to method is to deflect since their position is draconian and indefensible. But ironically, as the state GOP chair bids good riddance to residents, the state itself and specific travel boards in this state are trying to advertise themselves as a safe place for LGBTQ plus people so they can keep breaking in that sweet tourist cash. Pink News explains a 60 second audio clip from Visit Orlando was broadcasted on iHeart radio channels, including Pride Radio, reassuring listeners that the city is ready to welcome you just as you are. The possibilities are endless. And there are amazing LGBTQ plus events for you to experience where everyone is welcome. The ad continues. NBC News journalist Ben Collins spotted the advertisements while listening to a podcast and wrote in a Thursday, August 10th tweet that the city was down so bad, it's unbelievable. A similar event by the Tourism Association from June titled Orlando was full of pride features a few of the city's LGBTQ plus residents speaking about why it is a safe place for queer people. One person who speaks in the video ad says the way our city is set up, there are so many pockets of multicultural groups. The Florida city relies heavily on tourism due to its many theme parks, including Disney World and Universal Studios. Despite this, a report from Spectrum News found that tourism had decreased by 3.5% in the 12 months from April 2022 to April 2023. Yikes. Now, there is a couple of caveats here. To be fair, specifically trying to attract queer tourists isn't necessarily a new phenomenon since cities have been trying to market to queer people as inclusive since before the travel advisories were put in place. And furthermore, you can't necessarily say that correlation equals causation. You know, you can't prove definitively that this small decrease in tourism is the direct result of these travel advisories or queer people on their ally's choosing to not visit, but it's not unreasonable to deduce that it has something to do with it, right, given the current political climate. But nonetheless, we'll just have to wait and see if this trend continues because the state has reported high numbers in early 2023. And 2022 was a record year for tourism in Florida. But that came after the peak of the pandemic where they experienced record lows, but I mean, the expansion of the don't say gay law and adult gender affirming care ban and bathroom bills didn't get codified until after that number was released, where they said they're doing great. So I mean, I don't know, we'll have to wait and see, right? We don't know for sure how this will affect tourism, but I hope it does. I hope it hurts them, right? Because despite them trying to market to queer people, the state's lawmakers have made it abundantly clear that you are not welcome in their state if you are a queer person or a queer ally, right? So by traveling there, you are supporting their bigotry with your money, right? This is the bigotry capital of the country. And their laws don't just affect Floridians. These laws are being exported to other states. I mean, how many more states have implemented a don't say gay law after Florida did it, right? So they're leading the way in this crusade against LGBTQ plus people. So if you can, don't go there. I understand if you have family there and whatnot. But I mean, if you live in Florida, however, and you don't have a choice, then I mean, you have my deepest sympathies because if you are a queer person or just a good person, like it's not just about being gay or straight or trans or cis, if you're just a good person, you should want to get as far away from this hellhole as you possibly can. But I understand that that's easier said than done because, again, moving from your home is very, very difficult. But if you can choose to not travel there, then don't. Because this state doesn't deserve your money.