Equality Florida ads bash Florida GOP’s anti-LGBTQ politics

Equality Florida Action PAC made clear Florida’s LGBTQ+ won’t sit back this election cycle. The advocacy group ahead of the Nov. 8 General Election funded a $65,000 round of ads reaching voters on digital and television.

The ads push back at legislation passed diminishing representation of LGBTQ people in schools and elsewhere, and also directly calls out homophobic messaging from Republicans during the current election cycle.

Three separate ads will hit voters online, streaming television and watching traditional cable.

The animated “Obey” ad pushes back on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “free state of Florida” schtick.

“Freedom of speech is a core American value, but under DeSantis’ rule, it’s obey or be silenced,” a narrator states.

The 30-second ad depicts red-tied Secret Service-esque figures tearing up rainbow flags in classrooms, saying teachers can now be sued for flying the banners. It cites “parental rights” law signed by DeSantis and labeled by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

It also shows a drawing of DeSantis beside a sketch of Disney’s Magic Kingdom, noting DeSantis pushed a repeal of the district allowing the company’s self-governing of its Orlando area resort.

“And if DeSantis has his way, parents who support their transgender child can be charged with child abuse,” the narrator states, an apparent reference to proposals for investigating those who allow their children gender-affirming medical treatment.

A second ad focused on a key legislative race in the state. The response ad counters messaging against Democratic Sen. Loranne Ausley, who Republican ads showed chanting “gay” at a Capitol demonstration against the “don’t say gay” bill. Democratic Sen. Janet Cruz, whose daughter is married to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, also appears in the GOP attack ad. Both Castor and Ausley have been targeted in this year’s mid-terms by Republicans.

The Equality Florida as compares smears on Democrats to anti-gay rhetoric from Anita Bryant in the 1970s, and runs a picture of the famous Florida anti-gay activist to footage of Sen. Ileana Garcia this year saying on the Senate floor that “Gay is not a permanent thing.”

“For Florida Republicans, 1950s-style discrimination has become their 2022 playbook,” a narrator states. “We can’t afford to turn back the clock on LGBTQ rights in Florida.”

A final spot again goes after DeSantis as “Florida’s biggest bully,” with video of him chewing out children in masks. It slams the Governor for bullying the LGBTQ community and those seeking abortions.

“We’re not afraid,” a narrator says, “and we’re fighting back.”

The ads promise to stand with Charlie Crist, the Democrat challenging DeSantis in the General Election. It then shows a picture openly gay state lawmakers Carlos Guillermo Smith, Michele Rayner-Goolsby and Shevrin Jones, and promises Equality Florida will stand by pro-LGBTQ officials across the state.