(screenshot via YouTube)
The Human Rights Campaign, the United States’ largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has denounced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of his official presidential candidacy announcement.
The current Florida governor is expected to announce his presidential bid on Twitter on Wednesday evening.
The HRC released a statement compiling DeSantis’ attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and pledged to “mobilize the 62 million ‘Equality Voters’ — for whom LGBTQ+ equality is a make-or-break issue — to stand together in opposition to DeSantis’ candidacy.”
These devastating blows to the community include his harmful rhetoric against the community, attacks on drag shows, LGBTQ+ youth, school curriculum and transgender athletes.
In March, DeSantis attempted to revoke a liquor license from a hotel in Miami that hosted a holiday-themed drag show. Establishments around the state have begun to cancel drag performances in fear of retaliation from the governor.
DeSantis also recently signed Senate Bill 254 into law, which prohibits gender-affirming care for children under the age of 18, even with parental consent.
The bill also allows the state to take custody of any child being given sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures.
The HRC calls DeSantis “dangerously out of step with average Americans’ views on freedom and equality” and plans to “ensure that his destructive path of weaving hate and bigotry into public law will end at the Florida border.”
