Pride and priorities in Florida
“Show me your budget, and I will show you your priorities.”
We have all heard this statement many times – from politicians or even from friends and relatives. I know I heard it so much from my father growing up that if I had a quarter for every time I did, I would have at least enough to buy a nice meal at Harry’s in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.
I have to say, though, that I never fully bought into this notion – not all value is measured by dollars and cents. Let me give you an example to illustrate my point.
On Wednesday, June 2, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the largest budget in Florida history, at $101.5 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which is almost 10% more than the current budget. To be clear, there are many good appropriations in this budget that recognize the valor and sacrifice of front-line workers during the pandemic, allow for teacher pay increases, and promote infrastructure and environmental projects to ensure that our almost 22 million residents and countless tourists can travel up and down the roadways to enjoy the beautiful beaches.
It is what is not included within the state’s financial roadmap for the upcoming fiscal year that is most revealing.
The governor signed this behemoth budget on the second day of Pride Month, which, of course, began with the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969 and serves to commemorate and celebrate LGBTQ activism and culture. DeSantis took painstaking care to cut funding for LGBTQ-focused projects, including specific appropriations for facilities to create housing for homeless LGBTQ youth, as well as Pulse nightclub survivors’ mental health counseling mere days before the five-year anniversary of the deadly mass shooting.
These cuts were less than $1 million in a budget with $9.5 billion in reserves.
After over a year of near-isolation for many due to the pandemic – and during a time when the demand for housing and mental health services outpaces existing resources – a swipe of the veto pen eliminated the hope of services for many LGBTQ persons who need them. Researchers say at least 40% of our country’s homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender nonconforming. The incidences of suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, unemployment, depression and incarceration are also greater in LGBTQ youth, research shows.
Florida’s governor failed to uphold the work done by advocates, impacted families, loved ones, and the Legislature to address them.
Of course, as I mentioned, this was on the second day of Pride Month. On the first day of Pride Month, DeSantis signed into law the state’s first anti-LGBTQ bill since 1997. The new law states that women and girls must play on the sports teams of the “biological sex” as shown on their birth certificates. There are no exceptions. Therefore, a transgender girl whose birth certificate denotes her “biological sex” as male cannot play on a girls’ sports team. There is not a corresponding law for trans boys and men.
As is frequently said about legislative actions here in Florida, this is a solution in search of a problem. There was zero evidence presented by the bill sponsor, committee chairs or supporters of any anecdotal or scientific need for the bill that is now law … because none exists. It is simply cruelty at its worst.
To all our LGBTQ Floridians, you are our priority. Your worth is priceless and could never be calculated by numbers in a budget. The contributions you have made to our families, our communities, the arts, science and beyond are as glorious as they are immeasurable. We see, love and respect you, and our ardent hope is for you to enjoy Pride Month for what it really is – a celebration of you.
Carrie Boyd is policy counsel for the SPLC Action Fund.
Photo by Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat/Imagn
