Equality Florida Attends D.C. People’s State of the Union Alongside Members of Congress

Equality Florida Attends the D.C. People’s State of the Union Alongside Members of Congress

Jennifer Solomon Warns Nation About Escalating Attacks on LGBTQ Parents and Families in Florida

Washington, DC — Equality Florida’s Jennifer Solomon, Senior Manager of Parents and Families Support, attended tonight’s D.C. People’s State of the Union with members of Congress to call out the continued obsessive attacks on LGBTQ families by the Trump and DeSantis Administrations and spotlight the dangerous anti-LGBTQ legislation advancing in the Florida legislature.​

“Once again, DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are advancing some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ bills in the country – the worst we’ve seen since the ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ law,” said Jennifer Solomon. “The continued obsession from Trump and DeSantis with attacking LGBTQ families, especially transgender people, is a calculated smokescreen to distract from their failures, scandals, and corruption. But this political theater has very real consequences for our families. While they wage culture wars, Floridians are struggling with a housing crisis, skyrocketing insurance, and a lack of affordability that these leaders refuse to address.”

As the Florida legislative session enters its final weeks, several anti-LGBTQ bills are moving rapidly toward passage, including:

• HB 743 / SB 1010 — The ‘More Lawsuits for Teachers and Doctors’ bill has the Attorney General broad authority to investigate and sue school staff and mental health care providers under vague and undefined standards. It includes sweeping “aiding and abetting” language that could expose teachers, mental health providers, and even parents to legal risk simply for helping a transgender young person access mental health support.
• HB 1001 / SB 1134 — The Anti-Diversity in Local Government bill is a sledgehammer aimed at cities and counties that dare to recognize the diversity of the people they serve. It could ban cities and counties from sponsoring or promoting Pride festivals, sets up local electeds to be removed from office for recognizing Black History Month or Pride Month, defunds translating information about city services for Spanish-speaking residents, repeals public health outreach programs on HIV/AIDS targeted to the LGBTQ community, and invites lawsuits from ideological extremists.
• HB 641 / SB 1642 — The ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans at Work’ bill would expand Florida’s notorious “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law into government workplaces and many private businesses. It would shield employees from accountability for intentionally bullying transgender co-workers and block LGBTQ-inclusive workplace training, effectively legitimizing harassment and undermining professional standards across public and private sectors.

Florida has previously enacted policies that later spread nationwide, including the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” classroom censorship law and sweeping book bans. The current slate of bills in the legislature represents an unprecedented escalation — directly targeting parents, educators, healthcare providers, and local governments.

Solomon leads Equality Florida’s Parenting with Pride program, a network of nearly 4,000 parents statewide. A registered nurse and mother of LGBTQ children, she works daily with families navigating fear and uncertainty amid shifting laws and mounting political attacks.

“This is a warning to the rest of the country about what’s at stake. What happens in Florida does not stay here. We’ve seen policies like ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ spread across the country after being tested in our state. This is a national call to help stop these sweeping attacks right away,” added Solomon.