Transgender people want out of Florida according to new survey

New data released by the Human Rights Campaign reveals the virtually universal negative impact discriminatory legislation is having on LGBTQ+ adults.

Don’t Say Gay laws, “bathroom bills,” and gender-affirming care restrictions for both minors and adults are negatively affecting a large majority of LGBTQ+ Americans.

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Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper blasted the Republican-led legislature for passing “legislation that discriminates.”

For trans people in states like Florida, the laws are an existential threat driving them to leave their homes.

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Eight in ten transgender and non-binary adults in Florida want to move — or already have taken steps to move — as a result of gender-affirming care bans. The same number would consider leaving the country altogether.

More than half of trans people — and 28% of other LGBTQ+ adults — want to find work in a different state due to gender-affirming care bans.

More than 36% of other LGBTQ+ adults say they want to or plan to move out of Florida because of gender-affirming care bans.

And almost 80% of other LGBTQ+ adults report that bans on gender-affirming care make them feel less safe as a member of the community.

For transgender and non-binary adults, that number rises to more than nine out of ten people.

“I feel like I am losing my basic rights over my body and my right to exist in public spaces,” said one young transmasc/non-binary survey respondent from Florida. “I feel dehumanized.”

“Extremist, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians, and their allies are waging a dangerous and cruel misinformation campaign that seeks to stigmatize not only gender-affirming care but transgender and non-binary people as well,” said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign.

“Through fear-mongering and propaganda, extremist leaders are working overtime to manufacture panic, rile up their base, and coax them into opposing healthcare for transgender people, even though it’s endorsed by every major medical organization.”

Nearly half of LGBTQ+ adults report that gender-affirming care bans impact the physical and/or mental health of themselves or their loved ones.

According to the HRC, there are currently 21 states across the U.S. that have enacted laws banning gender-affirming care. Collectively, they’re home to nearly 97,000 transgender youth aged 13 to 17, which translates to a third of all transgender youth living in states without access to gender-affirming care, or where care has been severely limited.

Several bans have been temporarily enjoined by federal courts and are not currently in effect. 

“The results of this survey make clear that we Floridians will be repairing that damage of anti-LGBTQ laws passed in this state for years to come,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida.

“Conferences are canceling, talent is fleeing, and the best and brightest are abandoning our universities, while LGBTQ+ people are feeling more unsafe than ever before. These attacks have to stop.”