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Today Governor DeSantis signed HB 1557, the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill that aims to bar educators from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with young students in the classroom and represents an egregious affront to American democratic values. We condemn the legislators that voted in favor of the bill and the Governor for signing the bill into law. This represents the worst of our fears despite the advances we have made in the last ten years. Our moment to take action and protect our LGBTQ community has come again. We need to show up at the ballot box to ensure anti-LGBTQ and anti-democracy lawmakers are voted out of office.

All in all, Florida’s 2022 legislative session saw little more than partisan lawmakers pandering to their far-right base by waging culture wars against their LGBTQ constituents, women, people of color, and the environment. In the process, they also handed Governor Ron DeSantis considerable political ammunition as the leading polarizing figure of the 2022 midterm elections.

With the legislative session now behind us, there’s no time to wallow, and we must urgently recognize how critical these elections in August and November will be. The reality is that we’re grossly outnumbered against anti-LGBTQ politicians and, as always, preparedness and organization are paramount as we fight to keep the future of LGBTQ equality from slipping away.

Elections in August and November are as critical as those in 2020.

Donald Trump may not be on the ballot in Florida’s 2022 midterm elections, but Governor DeSantis and his followers certainly are. And like the former president, this cunning careerist leading the state has emerged as a formidable champion of national conservative causes since assuming Florida’s governorship in 2019.

From banning free speech around gender identity and sexual orientation, to policing women’s bodies with a 15-week ban on abortion, DeSantis connivingly exploited this year’s legislative session to advance his political ambitions, which may include running for POTUS in 2024.

Before his stardom continues to rise nationally, however, DeSantis must first win a second term as Florida Governor. As we fight for the future of LGBTQ equality in this country, steering the outcome of November’s gubernatorial election could be our most historically decisive battle yet. And we must also begin to balance the legislature by making sure that pro-equality lawmakers are voted into office. While we may be grossly outnumbered, the path to a more moderate state house begins now.

Pro-equality voters need to prepare.

With the Florida primaries approaching fast, it’s imperative that we begin preparing for the 2022 midterm elections now. We must prioritize voting for leaders with integrity who advance civil rights and liberties for all Americans, not cheap power mongers willing to sell out our freedom for political gain.

To ensure your vote counts, creating a personal plan for how you will vote is a key first step. In Florida, the primary will be held on August 23, followed by Election Day on November 8. Incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis is running for a second term. On the ballot will also be every Senate and House seat in the Florida legislature, including the Senate seat currently held by Marco Rubio. Make sure you become familiarized with all the pro-equality candidates now so you can cast your votes accordingly when the time comes. Keep tabs of the SAVE endorsed candidates at www.WeVote.miami.

Conversations matter more than political ads.

A well-organized get-out-the-vote campaign is the most effective way for us to turn elections around. Not political ads, but rather one-on-one dialog as a means of squashing misinformation, combating ignorance, and winning hearts and minds across our communities.

At SAVE, we believe that if you’re not canvassing, then you’re not doing the work necessary to garner the votes we need to win. In today’s political reality, anything short of knocking on doors amounts to little more than slacktivism. To this end, we are deploying our teams of trained volunteers to engage South Florida’s voters in transformative conversations with the dual aim of informing, but also listening to advance our own knowledge of the populace voice.

The outcome of Florida’s 2022 midterm elections will determine the future of our state and, by extension, that of American democracy itself. We urge you to join our canvassing actions and help us rally pro-equality voters in the months leading up to the elections. A donation at the SAVE website will also go a long way in helping our organization stay in the fight for LGBTQ equality. Find a way to get involved in the field, even if it’s not through SAVE. What matters most is that we all do our part, however small, while time is still on our side.

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It’s U.S. Trans Survey Awareness Week!

The U.S. Trans Survey is the largest community-led survey of trans people, and it is instrumental to improving the lives of trans people. The data collected in 2015 gave our community the largest data set about the trans experience in the United States. 

For USTS Awareness Week, we here at SAVE are working alongside the National Center for Transgender Equality, BTAC, NQAPIA, and TransLatin@ Coalition to help spread the word about the USTS. As a community, we want to help get as many trans people as possible to pledge to take the new survey. 

That’s where you come in!

• If you are trans, take the pledge today and tell your other trans siblings about the pledge.
• If you are an ally, you can still play a vital role this week. Tell as many folks as possible about the USTS, especially those who identify as trans or work with the trans community.
• If you serve trans members in your workplace, get involved in the 2022 USTS and be a community partner. Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Yesterday, HB 1557 (the Don't Say Gay bill) passed in the House of Representatives with 69 yeas and 47 nays. While the vote was disappointing and shameful, our efforts had an impact and we were able to flip key South Florida Representatives to nays. We applaud the South Florida Representatives that took a stance against this hateful legislation:

Rep. Vance Aloupis
Rep. Robin Bartleman
Rep. Christopher Benjamin
Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera
Rep. Daryl Campbell
Rep. Kevin Chambliss
Rep. Dan Daley
Rep. Nick Duran
Rep. Joseph Geller
Rep. Michael Gottieb
Rep. Michael Grieco
Rep. Christine Hunschofsky
Rep. Evan Jenne
Rep. Dottie Joseph
Rep. Chip LaMarca
Rep. James Mooney
Rep. Anika Omphroy
Rep. Felicia Robinson
Rep. Patricia Williams
Rep. Marie Woodson

It is up to us to keep fighting back and work to kill the Don't Say Gay bill in the Senate. SB 1834 is schedule to be heard in it's second of three Committees on Monday, February 28th at 10:30 am. We need you to take a minute right now and call our South Florida Senators and urge them to oppose SB 1834.

Senator Ileana Garcia: 850-487-5037
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez: 850-487-5039

After you call the Senators today, we need you to help make calls from home to pro-equality voters and connect them with their Senators. It is easy, and we will give you all the tools and training that you need to have high impact conversations with voters. Our next phonebank will be on Monday, February, 28th at 5:30 pm. Sign up here to take action!

Issues impacting the civil rights and lives of transgender people have never demanded more urgent attention.

As we observe Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance & Resilience (TDORR), our LGBTQ community has much to reflect upon. Since taking office, President Joe Biden pledged his commitment to being the most pro-equality administration in history and has largely made good on this promise so far.

Today nearly 14% of President Biden’s (or 1,500) federal appointees identify as LGBTQ, as stated in his Pride month proclamation in June. During that month, the White House also announced historic new actions to advance equality, inclusion, and opportunity for transgender Americans.

However, we still have our work cut out for us in realizing full equality, and the issues impacting the civil rights and lives of transgender people have never demanded more urgent attention.

AN URGENT HOUSING CRISIS WITH NEGATIVE RIPPLE EFFECTS

By Orlando Gonzales, SAVE; Ebonni N. Chrispin, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

There exists a prevalent, urgent and under-reported crisis in systematically oppressed communities across South Florida including the LGBTQ community which needs to be addressed.

LGBTQ people are disproportionately facing housing discrimination and LGBTQ youth alone comprise 20% - 40% of homeless youth. Statistics like these are alarming and without visibility on these issues, crimes against humanity will continue to negatively impact our entire community. While it may not affect you directly, ignoring the issue will have lasting damage to our economy as a whole and the communities where we live, work and play.

Housing is arguably the most critical facet of life. It provides stability and dignity for those fortunate to have one, and an insurmountable obstacle for those in our community without.  The issue is unfortunately exacerbated even further among transgender people. As many as one in five transgender people have faced discrimination when looking for housing and the same percentage have also experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, according to data from the National Center for Transgender Equality.