Orlando begs LGBTQ+ people to visit despite Ron DeSantis’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws

A 60-second radio ad trying to convince LGBTQ+ people to visit Orlando has caused discord among LGBTQ+ advocates.

“Orlando, a city that’s ready to welcome you just as you are,” the ad reportedly proclaims. “The possibilities are endless. And there are amazing LGBTQ events for you to experience where everyone is welcome!”

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The ad comes from Visit Orlando, the city’s Official Tourism Association. CEO Casandra Matej disputed the fact that the ad is a direct response to the vicious attacks on LGBTQ+ Floridians coming from the elected officials in charge. Matej claimed the ad is merely part of an inclusion initiative called “Orlando for All” that began in 2021.

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“We’re very proud that we’re the number one visited destination in the US,” Matej told WFTV. “But our board leadership, our team at Visit Orlando, we felt very compelled that we needed to add not only the most visited, but the most welcoming and inclusive.”

But some LGBTQ+ advocates have slammed the ad for being irresponsible, begging LGBTQ+ people to visit a state that is dangerous for them.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has devoted his time in office to demonizing LGBTQ+ people and passing legislation to take away their rights. He has launched numerous blindsides attacking “woke indoctrination” in schools, and has taken control of the state’s education system with handpicked administrators and the power of the bully pulpit. His staff has regularly smeared LGBTQ+ people and allies on social media with vile slurs and insinuations of sexual abuse. In November, two Florida state medical boards voted to institute a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

In 2021, DeSantis signed a bill banning trans students from participating in school sports. He has ranted against “woke gender ideology” and once claimed, “In the state of Florida, we are not going to allow them to inject transgenderism into kindergarten.” He also signed a bill to ban transgender people from using the correct bathrooms in government buildings in the state that went into effect in July.

In the wake of all that, the Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ rights organization – issued a travel warning to Florida, with the organization’s president saying, “LGBTQ+ people in Florida are finding themselves in a state of emergency every single day.”

And now Visit Orlando is trying to convince LGBTQ+ people to visit anyway.

“It kind of feels like it feels like they’re totally not paying attention to what is happening,” said advocate Yasmin Flasterstein. “It makes me as an LGBTQ+ person feel like I am not justified or not valid and like having these fears.”

In a tweet blasting the ad, trans journalist and activist Erin Reed wrote, “‘Visit Orlando, where you can be arrested for using the bathroom!’ No shade on the LGBTQ people in Orlando, they are fighting like hell, but the state is not safe for visitors right now.”

“Visit Orlando, where you can be arrested for using the bathroom!”

No shade on the LGBTQ people in Orlando, they are fighting like hell, but the state is not safe for visitors right now. https://t.co/BZPfc1MfTC

— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) August 12, 2023

Reed was responding to a tweet from reporter Ben Collins, who wrote that he had heard the ad and that “the whole thing was just reassuring gay people that their city is a safe place to go.”

“They’re down so bad it’s unbelievable,” Collins said, adding in a follow-up tweet that “Most American cities don’t have to take out ads reminding gay people that the Human Rights Campaign once said traveling there is fine.”

Media Matters LGBTQ Program Director Ari Drennen also joined the conversation, writing that “It’s honestly irresponsible for city officials to lie to people like that. Trans people risk arrest if they use a Florida bathroom. No way to spin that.”

It’s honestly irresponsible for city officials to lie to people like that. Trans people risk arrest if they use a Florida bathroom. No way to spin that.

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) August 12, 2023

But Tatiana Quiroga – executive director of Come Out with Pride, which worked with Visit Orlando on its LGBTQ+ outreach – sees it differently.

“I’m very excited to see that Visit Orlando is specifically speaking to the LGBTQ+ community,” Quiroga said. “I think that it’s about time.”

“Come on down, see who we are, see why we’re fighting,” she added. “Don’t forget us in our biggest time of need… Turning your backs on us now is actually the opposite of what we need to happen.”