LGBTQ people live, work, and raise families in every U.S. state, including Florida.
The voter registration deadline is October 7, 2024. The mandatory early voting period is from October 26 to November 2, 2024. Some counties may offer additional voting days.
Campaign coverage should inform voters about the candidates and their stances on LGBTQ people and issues facing the community, and include LGBTQ Floridians in those conversations.
The safety of LGBTQ people and families, their ability to live free from discrimination and contribute to the success of their communities and state, are at stake.
LGBTQ People in Florida: Context to Know and Report
- There are an estimated 886,000 LGBTQ people ages 13 and up living in Florida, with approximately 4.6% of adult Floridians identifying as LGBTQ, 24% of whom are raising children. UCLA’s Williams Institute ranks Florida as number 12 of all states with high concentrations of LGBTQ people.
- According to the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, a record 283 out LGBTQ people won elected office in 2023 for a total of 1,185 out elected officials nationwide. Florida has 41 out elected officials, including five mayors, one state Senator, ten judicial officials, and 25 local officials.
- Florida Governor and former 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, along with supporters in the legislature, have led some of the most extreme attacks in the nation on LGBTQ people, women, and people of color, including:
- In 2022, DeSantis signed a “Don’t Say LGBTQ” school censorship bill that bans any mention of LGBTQ people or issues in public schools among educators or students and which has since been expanded to cover grades K-12. The first-of-its-kind bill has led to copycat legislation across the country creating unsafe spaces for LGBTQ adults and youth in the education sector; and versions of which are being pursued at universities, in employment spaces, and other areas.
- The so-called “Stop Woke Act” aimed to restrict discussion of LGBTQ issues and racism in workplaces, schools, and universities.
- DeSantis signed Senate Bill 254, which bans lifesaving health care for transgender youth and threatens to remove children from the care of their parents if they attempt to provide proper care. A federal judge has blocked enforcement of the law against Florida youth, noting DeSantis spread false information about the care, that gender identity is real and the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.
- DeSantis has also signed bills barring transgender youth from participating in school sports in middle school, high school and college; allowing doctors and insurers a license to discriminate by denying LGBTQ+ people health care; restricting bathroom access for transgender people; removing LGBTQ books and books about people of color from schools and banning Black history courses, and forbidding teachers and educators from using students’ authentic pronouns; imposing harsh penalties on venues that host drag performances or Pride events in front of youth (which another federal judge has struck down); banning use of public funds for DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and acceptance) programs in the state; and imposing a six-week ban on abortion, before most people even know they are pregnant.
- The Miami Herald reported that legal bills to defend DeSantis’ efforts against LGBTQ people cost Florida taxpayers at least $17 million.
- As of early 2024, the Florida state legislature has advanced bills seeking to ban display of signs of support for causes deemed “politically partisan,” such as LGBTQ+ Pride flags and Black Lives Matters signs at government buildings and schools; bills to erase transgender people by redefining the legal definition of “sex” under state code and law, and proposals to prohibit DEIA initiatives in government and nonprofit sectors.
- In January Florida officials revoked transgender residents’ ability to update their documentation on driver’s licenses and ID cards, forcing transgender people to lie to government officials about who they are and/or subject themselves to violence and harassment.
- In January 2024, Christian Ziegler was ousted as Chairman of the Florida Republican Party amid allegations of sexual assault, made by a woman Ziegler and his wife Bridget were having a sexual relationship with. Bridget Ziegler is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated extremist group that seeks to ban books by and about LGBTQ people and books about race and racism. GLAAD is documenting the anti-LGBTQ extremism of Moms for Liberty, including its use of harmful rhetoric, connections to extremist groups including Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, ties to longtime national anti-LGBTQ groups, and rank hypocrisy of co-founder Bridget Ziegler.
- Disinformation from anti-LGBTQ extremists on social media about mainstream essential health care for transgender youth and people preceded threats against drag performers and performances in Florida as of early 2024. GLAAD has documented more than 160 incidents of violence and harassment against drag performers and events in 2023, including in Florida, from groups increasingly connected to extremist, white supremacist organizations that show up armed to intimidate events, people and children.
- The LGBTQ records of Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump are documented on the GLAAD Accountability Project, which includes policies and proposals targeting LGBTQ Americans, and false and harmful rhetoric about them. Trump has amassed more than 200 attacks in policy and rhetoric against LGBTQ Americans throughout his one-term presidency and 2024 campaign.
- The Biden-Harris administration’s LGBTQ record includes more than 320 appointments, nominations, statements and policies of support, as documented via GLAAD’s Biden Accountability Tracker.
- Polling and turnout analysis from the 2020 election indicate that LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the victory of Joe Biden for President and in key battleground states.
Best Practices
- Stories about or that mention LGBTQ people should include LGBTQ voices.
- In stories specifically about transgender people, seek and include a transgender person. GLAAD can connect you.
- Prioritize facts, expertise and LGBTQ lived experience over candidate and campaign opinion in your reporting. If a candidate remarks about LGBTQ people, always include facts and context. For example, any discussion of transgender health care must note this care is supported by every major medical association (30+ statements here). Additional resources below.
- Review and report a candidate’s LGBTQ record and support from anti-LGBTQ groups. Ongoing documentation is available on candidates, other public figures, and groups via the GLAAD Accountability Project.
- Avoid shorthand descriptions of political conversations about LGBTQ people as a “culture war debate.” This dehumanizes marginalized people as a “side” and allows oppressive policies and politicians to escape accountability for creating and fueling the “war.” This language adds to voter apathy by alienating viewers and readers who find vaguely defined “culture wars” irrelevant to their lives. Focus your reporting on the policies, consequences to all taxpayers and the people directly harmed, and the candidates proposing them and their LGBTQ history.
- Be factual and clear in your language: “(candidate name) has proposed policies restricting health care for transgender people, despite the fact that this care is supported by every major medical association.”
- Do not repeat, or clearly state as false, “groomer” rhetoric. Experts in child abuse prevention have raised alarms that this rhetoric undermines understanding of actual child abuse and endangers innocent people and children.
- Include greater context: 500+ anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed in state legislatures through 2023. This is a broad scale, coordinated attack against LGBTQ Americans’ growing visibility and acceptance, via targeting health care, book bans, curriculum and conversation bans, sports bans, and bathroom bans.
- Inform your readers and viewers about this larger pattern of LGBTQ animus as you report on individual topics and bills and candidates supporting them. Note also how health care and drag ban bills have been blocked in court as unconstitutional and discriminatory.
- Report connections between anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies to violent and extremist incidents: the ADL Center on Extremism has documented at least 700 attacks against LGBTQ people through 2023, including murders, assault, harassment, and vandalism. The report notes increasing connections of anti-LGBTQ violence by people from extremist groups like Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
- Anti-LGBTQ posts on extremist media, further amplified on extremist cable programs, have been followed by bomb threats against children’s hospitals, libraries and schools, endangering and inconveniencing all students, families and residents in these communities.
- Report connections between anti-LGBTQ extremism and other attacks on freedoms: states proposing bills targeting LGBTQ people have also banned abortion and denied and denigrated fair elections. In addition, several states have passed laws or introduced bills mirroring Florida’s extreme “Don’t say LGBTQ” law. Lawmakers in Nebraska passed a bill both banning health care for transgender youth and abortion after 12 weeks. Texas lawmakers proposed more than 140 anti-LGBTQ bills last year, passed extreme restrictions on abortion, and enforced draconian laws.
Additional Resources
GALLUP: 7.2% of U.S. adults are out as LGBTQ, including 20% of Gen Z, the most out generation in history; a projected 14% of voters will be out as LGBTQ by 2030.
GALLUP: record high 71% support for marriage equality.
GLAAD: 84% of Americans support equal rights for LGBTQ people.
GLAAD Media Reference Guide: terminology and 20+ topic areas to learn about and accurately report on LGBTQ people.
Medical Association Statements Transgender Health Care: 30+ statements from every major medical association and world health authority, across specialities and patient lifespan, supporting health care for transgender people. Health care for transgender people is mainstream care with widely held consensus of both the medical and scientific communities.
Factsheet for Reporters Covering Transgender Health Care: what to know about transgender health care and how to responsibly include trans voices in your coverage.
About GLAAD:
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.