Orlando LGBTQ community rallies against anti-trans legislation
Orlando, FL – On Saturday, March 11, multiple organizations rallied together in support of LGBTQ rights outside the Orlando City Hall. The event responded to the growing attacks that LGBTQ people face every day and the recent anti-trans legislation moving through the Florida legislature. The rally was attended by around 250 people.
This rally and its speakers singled out specific bills. This includes Florida Senate Bill 254, which allows the state to take away children seeking gender-affirming care and to ban health care providers from giving gender-affirming care to minors. It also includes Florida House Bill 1223, which prohibits the use of preferred pronouns in schools and prohibits teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.
The event began with the crowd chanting, “Fuck DeSantis!” and “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
“Even during our most devastating time, during the Pulse massacre, the business owners were looking for donations to museums rather than support for the victims and their families. We must not rely on the system that has put us in this situation to get us out. We can only rely on ourselves,” said Alex Marulanda from Orlando Liberation Initiative.
Jamila Nicole from No More Dead Sisters said, “What made any community control of the police pass was mass struggle based in Black liberation. Tying together the fight for LGBTQ rights and the struggle for Black liberation is important as it brings to light the connection of all fights against oppression and unites us all against a common enemy: monopoly capitalism. We keep us safe!”
Jacob Muldoon, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Orlando, said, “This is just part of a larger attack on all oppressed people. Politicians have not fulfilled their promises, and we need to take the struggle into our own hands. We need working-class leadership to guarantee our social, economic and political needs, like healthcare, housing and employment.”
FRSO Orlando is continuing the fight for trans rights by mobilizing to the Orlando city council meeting on March 20 at 2 p.m. They are demanding that the city of Orlando stand with the trans community and investigate steps they could take to protect trans rights in the city.