Organizers announced that they will be launching an all-out campaign to force the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to drop their anti-trans policy and to restore the ability of Floridians to change the gender markers on their IDs to reflect who they are.

More than a dozen community organizations including HOPE Community Center, Orlando for Gender Equality and Dream Defenders were united behind a banner which read, “DeSantis DMV. Drop the policy. IDs for all.” Florida Representative Anna Eskamani also attended and pledged solidarity with the growing campaign. As reporters gathered to hear the announcement outside the prominent LGBTQ health center, activists chanted “We won’t go back. Not one step back!” and “We will not go back in time, being trans is not a crime.”

Jacob Muldoon, lead organizer with Orlando for Gender Equality spoke first and outlined the context for DeSantis’ latest attack on the LGBTQ community. He explained that community groups organized and mobilized in great numbers during the past legislative session. Through actions like protests, letter-writings, die-ins, and more, activists defeated 21 out of 22 anti-LGBTQ bills attempting to move through the Florida legislature. But now, facing defeat, the GOP is pivoting to an undemocratic, administrative rule change.

Muldoon went on to say, “These political moves by DeSantis and the GOP are unconstitutional and follow a trend of Florida violating federal laws like Real ID and Title IX. DeSantis and the GOP are rogue actors, dead set on their unpopular and hate-filled agenda. We must defend Orlando from Tallahassee.”

Well-known community organizer Shea Cutliff delivered a powerful speech, stating, “As someone who transitioned very early, my ID was like a black American Express card. It was a ticket to so many things. It put a stop to being discriminated against before I even had the chance to interview for a job. It was my chance to stand up for myself in a place as simple as a grocery store by presenting my ID with the proper gender marker reflected on it.”

Joey Knoll, founder and president of SPEKTRUM Health also spoke out against DeSantis’ attempts to erase Florida’s trans population from public life. Knoll rebuked the right-wing governor, “regardless of what Ron DeSantis says, thinks or does: trans people have existed, trans people exist now, and trans people will continue to exist long into the future. Nobody is asking for his permission.”

The coalition ended the conference with a call to action, promising to mobilize and protest at DMVs around the state of Florida in the coming weeks.

#OrlandoFL #LGBTQrights #TransRights #TransLiberation #GayRights #RealID #TitleIX #Desantis #

Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, February 27, a group of around 15 students joined together in front of the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida to demand that the university defend diversity.

The event was organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society as part of their campaign titled “Defend Diversity.” The student protesters demanded USF take action to protect Women’s and Gender Studies, expand Africana Studies, and fund multicultural organizations. Students chanted “DEI is welcome here” and “Ron DeSantis go away.”

The rally was a cry for USF to take action to protect DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs from being restricted. This student group blames higher administration officials for the lack of protections for diversity. Tampa Bay SDS member Allie Enriquez states, “USF presidents like Rhea Law continue to ignore the demands of students and follow DeSantis’ agenda.”

In Florida, this backward legislation has mainly been pushed through by Governor Ron DeSantis. The most dire and far reaching of these bills is HB 999/SB 266 which prohibits funding to any DEI-related office or program, including student groups.

Tampa Bay SDS continues to fight for diversity on their campus by building up their campaign to Defend Diversity and having direct actions against their administration’s complacency on this issue.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #DEI #DeSantis #SDS #TampaBaySDS

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

The National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) condemns attacks by Governor Ron DeSantis and the right wing dominated legislature in Florida. During this current legislative session, the Florida Legislature is poised to pass legislation targeting the movements for police accountability, the labor movement, the movement to end white supremacy and remove confederate monuments, attacks on the right to organize for a free Palestine, as well as continued attacks on LGBTQ students, and a continued onslaught on the immigrant community and all oppressed peoples.

NAARPR and all our branches and affiliate organizations call for national solidarity with all the progressive forces in Florida fighting back in this political climate, including the numerous NAARPR branches and affiliate organizations who are fighting on the frontlines against these rep