'State of emergency' issued for LGBTQ community by Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organizations, has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States.
The organization cited the record-breaking wave of legislation targeting the LGBTQ community and an increasingly hostile environment. The Department of Homeland Security has also warned about growing threats of violence and extremism against LGBTQ+ people.
"The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived — they are real, tangible and dangerous," Kelley Robinson, the president of HRC, said in a statement.
Robinson continued, "In many cases they are resulting in violence against LGBTQ+ people, forcing families to uproot their lives and flee their homes in search of safer states, and triggering a tidal wave of increased homophobia and transphobia that puts the safety of each and every one of us at risk."
The declaration comes as Pride Month kicks off. The month celebrates how far the LGBTQ community has come and how much further it has to go in obtaining equal rights.
More than 75 bills have been signed into law this year that restrict the LGBTQ community in some way, according to HRC. Roughly 500 similar bills have been introduced in 2023 alone.
These laws include restrictions on public drag performances, gender-affirming care for transgender people, content relating to LGBTQ identities and transgender bathroom bills.
These issues have led to an increase in threats of violence from extremists against the LGBTQIA+ community within the last year, DHS said.
In Florida, one of the states leading the charge in legislation relating to the LGBTQ community, several civil rights organizations including the NAACP and Equality Florida have issued travel advisories to the state.
A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office told ABC News in a response that "we aren’t going to waste our time worrying about political stunts. We will continue doing what is right for Floridians."
Across the country, some families say they are moving out of states like Florida, Texas and Montana, where such laws are being implemented.
"When a child's basic needs are not being met, or when a child is neglected or endangered in the home, Child Protective Services is called. But what happens when it's the State that's endangering a child? When the State is not allowing basic needs to be met?" said Daniel, the dad of a transgender young person in Florida who recently moved to Minnesota, in a statement via the HRC.
He added, "We have become our own version of Child Protective Service and removed our child from the danger and neglect from the State."
