Largest LGBTQ group in U.S. warns about travel to Florida

The largest LGBTQ rights organization in the US joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly introduced laws and policies could pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers.

The Human Rights Campaign joins the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Equality Florida to issue a travel or relocation warning for the Sunshine State, one of the most popular states for tourists in the US.

While the advocacy group said it was not calling for a boycott or a blanket recommendation to visit Florida, it said it wanted to highlight a new law passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature that it says is hostile to the LGBTQ community, restricting abortion. access and allow Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

“People who visit should join us in vocal opposition to this dangerous policy,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement.

“People who choose other places to work, go to school or spend vacations should be clear why they are not going to Florida.”

WATCH | The NAACP says Florida shouldn’t:

NAACP warns African Americans, minority groups to avoid Florida

The NAACP said new laws and policies championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are “open to hostility” for Black Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. It has issued a travel advisory that accuses the state of “trying to erase Black history and limit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”

Last weekend, the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, issued an advisory warning that new laws and policies implemented by Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers “open up animosity toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals .”

More than 137.5 million tourists visited Florida last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion agency.

Tourism supports 1.6 million full-time and part-time jobs, and visitors spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019, according to last year’s figures.