MIAMI — When Richard Denis-Carr thinks about the direction Florida is headed, he considers packing up and moving his family out of the state.
Denis-Carr, who lives in Pembroke Pines, worries that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential ambitions have stirred up hate against the LGBTQ+ community. He fears for the future of his 10-month-old son, Zachary, who he’s raising with husband Joseph Denis-Carr.
“People like Ron DeSantis and people like the legislators ... are doing it because it excites their base, and it gets their base to vote for them,” he said.
Recent measures taken by the Florida Legislature, Denis-Carr said, are going to send a lot of kids “back into the closet,” leaving them to struggle with their sexual orientation like he once did. He said lawmakers are focused on drag queens and banning discussions about gender identity instead of real issues like gun violence.
Though Denis-Carr may leave Florida, he plans to stay vocal about the state’s future.
“We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “We fought AIDS. We fought for marriage. And we’re going to fight for this.”
Rob Collins and Erin Lewis, both 39, aim to raise their daughter 8-year-old Teya to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. That’s why they take her to events like the Easter egg hunt at Pride Park in Miami Beach.
“We wanted to make sure that our daughter knows that even though some people aren’t supportive of gay rights, that we are,” Lewis said. “We say gay.”
Some parents, Collins said, don’t talk to their children about sexuality. He said he and Lewis do because she’s going to learn about it eventually and they want her to approach the topic with love and acceptance.
For Collins, the introduction of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year was an “insidious move” by DeSantis. He pointed to the extension proposed this legislative session, barring classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from pre-K to eighth grade instead of kindergarten to third grade.
“Now we’re seeing the truth,” Collins said. “That was almost certainly the plan the entire time ... to eliminate those conversations from public schools entirely.”
Collins and Lewis are concerned with Teya’s future as she attends public school. They said these bills affect her and her friends — and their comfort level in the classroom.
“The more DeSantis tries to push these bills, the more we’ll be talking about it with our child,” Lewis said.
Cecile Houry, 46, yearns for her 5-year-old daughter, Lilou, to grow up accepting that people love who they love. As a concerned gay parent, Houry, who lives in Miami, was one of the many parents and teachers who filed a lawsuit against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill last March. The case was dismissed, but is heading to an appeals court.
“I wanted her treated the same way, able to showcase her family the same way,” Houry said. “I wanted to be able to go volunteer and express who I am and what I do ... the same way as other parents.”
Houry also criticized the Legislature’s plans to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.
“Let the parents decide what’s best for their children,” Houry said. “Let the doctors decide what’s best for the children. The government ... doesn’t know the kids. (They’re) most likely making it worse.”
Two decades ago, Houry came to the U.S. from France seeking the American dream. But that concept, she said, is shrinking every day in Florida. Every time DeSantis speaks during a news conference, Houry fears for her family: Lilou, who is Black, and her partner, who is Jewish.
“We cannot be free to be who we are, to read the books we want, to do what we want,” Houry said. “For me, that’s the end of freedom of expression.”
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