Have LGBTQ+ rights in Florida reached a turning point?

After years of policy losses withered LGBTQ+Floridians, did the political winds change in the sun’s state?

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Wednesday’s Florida Equality Press Conference was unusually congratulated following the possibility that two bills in the Florida Senate could be seen as new attacks on the queer community.

“We’re against this,” Florida Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith said he is a Democrat representing the Orlando area. “Two bad bills have been pushed out of the agenda as a result of 1,000 comment cards submitted to a particular Senate committee.”

He referenced the bill he would have Prohibited Because priority pronouns are used for LGBTQ+ employees, state contractors and local governments are abolition Measuring the diversity of a small number in the awarding of contracts. Both bills were introduced and listed as “not considered” on the state website after critics floods were asked to speak out during public comments at the Senate government oversight and accountability hearing on Tuesday. Notably, Republican Senate President Ben Albritton, representative of Republican Senate, said the bill could still be addressed at later meetings if the committee wanted.

These bills were one of a relatively small number of those flagged this year as about LGBTQ+ supporters in Tallahassee.

That may be because Florida has already abolished many of the state’s rights and representative efforts. Gov. Ron Desantis reduced bathroom access for transgender people, the University of Florida’s diversity program, and even recognition of self-identified gender markers in state IDs.

But following the failed presidential election in DeSantis and the general fatigue of even among Republican lawmakers who are in the culture war in Tallahassee, supporters suggested that the tide may have just changed.

“We see this year as a hopeful indication that far fewer bills specifically target the LGBTQ community,” said Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Florida Equality. “Maybe more legislators are growing tired of the cruelty.”

It’s not just a law. Angelique Godwin, director of Transgender Equality in Florida, said even moving around the Capitol is more welcome to trans people than in recent years.

“I share toilets with senators, Republicans and Christians today,” she said, “and no one said anything bad about me. No one was scared of me.”

Supporters and allies said it is something progressive supporters and LGBTQ individuals should be aware of. Florida, in particular, has introduced anti-LGBTQ policies for years in states that have been considered a shelter in the south due to discrimination.

Florida Rep. Anna Escamani, a straight-line ally from Orlando, has been unhappy with Democrats across the country moving away from protection of trans rights, saying that legal victory over Florida’s bad policies should be strengthened rather than a backlash Democrat leader.

“What we’re experiencing now is the backlash against the progress we’ve made,” she said. “Remember that backlash is a response to our hopes becoming a reality. Don’t stop expecting. Don’t stop fighting. We are here and we are proud.

Several lawmakers appeared at the press conference, including Florida officials Michele Rayner and Mitch Rosenwald. Their mere presence has shown the state’s progress for 20 years, with Rayner saying that the expression is a positive sign.

“My mother was talking about things that were unwavering and unmotivated,” she said. “And when you start taking up space, especially in places they say you can’t have space and you’re unmotivated in a state of unshakable state.”