Pri 2023: LGBTQ people flock to Florida for Disney's Gay Days celebratn

Contents:

• LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN
• AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS
• FLORIDA HOE PASS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN

— Tens of thoands of LGBTQ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long though Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have champned a slew of anti-LGBTQ laws — spurrg the most proment gay rights group the U. And other civil rights anizatns to issue warngs the Sunshe State may no longer be safe — Gay Days anizers are still enuragg visors om around the world to e to one of Florida’s largt gay and lbian say a large turnout will send a msage that LGBTQ people are not gog away Florida, which is ntually one of the most popular stat for tourists to vis.

If the hoped-for 150, 000 or more visors e to the half-week of pool parti, drag bgo and thrill ris at Orlando’s theme parks and hotels, then “that’s the pot, ” said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc. ”It’s not lost on the anizers that the highlight of the weekend will be a Saturday meetup of LGBTQ visors at the Magic Kgdom at Walt Disney World, where the first Gay Days started as a sgle-day celebratn 1991. Currently, Disney is embroiled a legal fight wh DeSantis over the ernor and Republin lawmakers’ takeover of Disney World’s erng district — after Disney officials publicly opposed legislatn that crics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.

AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS

“It’s ls a csa and more like, ‘I’m not gog to spend my money where bad thgs are gog on, ’” Hayn Days has survived past challeng, cludg the early years when Disney posted signs at the Magic Kgdom’s entrance warng visors there was a large gatherg of gays and lbians and offerg pass to other parks for guts who might be offend.

Over the last three s, though, the theme parks and rorts have thrown down the wele mats as Gay Days has bee a profable bounce between the sprg break and out-of-school summer crowds. Durg Gay Days the 1990s, hundreds of anti-abortn activists wh Operatn Rcue protted outsi Walt Disney World, and the Southern Baptist Conventn ced the gatherg llg for a boytt of all thgs Disney.

Some Christian groups tried to buy air time durg Gay Days the late 1990s to prsure people to renounce their sexual orientatn, but mastream TV statns Orlando rejected the ads.

FLORIDA HOE PASS NTROVERSIAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

Florida Republins are also lookg to pass legislatn expandg the state’s so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” law by applyg to charter schools and private pre-K programs and addg a provisn explicly statg school personnel and stunts do not have to ll someone by a pronoun that don’t rrpond to their sex at birth, among other provisns. Last year’s “Don’t Say Gay” law broadly banned discsns about “sexual orientatn or genr inty” elementary school classrooms. DeSantis Signs ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Into Law Dpe Controversy (Forb).

Origal pri flag — June 1978The first rabow pri flag was signed Gilbert Barker and unveiled durg the San Francis Gay Freedom Day on June 25, 1978. Philly Mag reported that a source volved wh the event said, “The black and brown strip are an clnary way to highlight Black and brown LGBTQIA members wh our muny.”“Wh all of the black and brown activism that’s worked to addrs racism the Gayborhood over the past year, I thk the new flag is a great step for the cy to show the world that they’re workg toward fully supportg all members of our muny,” the statement ntued. Acrdg to TriPri, the flag is meant to reprent the QPOC muny, pecially as relat to the ti that have bound the Black and queer muni sce the ceptn of the gay liberatn movement.