Statements & Press Releases

Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Launches New Trauma-Informed Course Empowering Mental Health Providers to Support LGBTQ Youth and Families
Equality Florida launched Trauma-Informed Care for LGBTQ Youth, a free virtual course offering six continuing education credits for Florida mental health professionals, drawing over 325 registrants in its first week amid rising mental health disparities among LGBTQ youth.
Equality Florida LGBTQ LGBTQ Youth
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Institute Wins Prestigious 2025 NASP Champion for Children Award
Equality Florida Institute was named the national winner of the 2025 National Association of School Psychologists Champion for Children award, recognizing its decades of advocacy for LGBTQ youth education and mental health, including training over 40,000 educators.
Equality Florida
Press Release ∙
Lawmakers Seek to Restore Rights and Freedoms Taken Under Governor DeSantis
Florida lawmakers filed the Health Care Freedom Act and the Freedom to Learn Act to undo laws backed by Governor DeSantis, with bills that would repeal the six-week abortion ban, restrictions on transgender care, and education censorship measures.
Press Release ∙
SAVE and Equality Florida Host “Recommitment To Marriage Equality” Celebration on 10th Anniversary
SAVE and Equality Florida announced a Recommitment to Marriage Equality celebration in Miami Beach on January 5, 2025, marking a decade since the Pareto v. Ruvin and Brenner v. Scott rulings brought same-sex marriage to Florida, featuring original plaintiffs and legal teams.
Equality Florida Marriage equality
Press Release ∙
A majority of Black adults are open-minded or supportive of transgender acceptance, new poll finds
A new HIT Strategies poll for Equality Florida found that 81 percent of Black respondents are supportive or neutral about greater social acceptance of transgender people, contradicting right-wing campaigns that targeted Black voters with anti-transgender messaging.
Transgender
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Action, Inc. Endorses Kamala Harris For President: “We believe Florida is in play”
Equality Florida Action, Inc. endorsed Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president, with Deputy Director Stratton Pollitzer arguing Florida is in play amid a building pro-equality wave against Trump-DeSantis extremism.
Equality Florida
Statement ∙
Federal Court Of Appeals Panel Allows Florida’s Ban On Healthcare For Transgender Floridians To Take Effect While Legal Challenge Continues
A federal appeals court panel ruled that Florida's SB 254 ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth and restrictions for adults can be enforced while the legal challenge continues, reversing a lower court block that Equality Florida called deeply disappointing.
Transgender
Statement ∙
Visit Florida Removes LGBTQ Page In Petty New Stunt By DeSantis To Exclude LGBTQ Community
Equality Florida's Nadine Smith condemned Visit Florida's removal of its LGBTQ Travel page, calling the move another deliberate step by the DeSantis administration to make Florida hostile to LGBTQ residents and tourists.
LGBTQ
Press Release ∙
Florida Voters Resoundingly Rebuke DeSantis and His Extremist Agenda
Equality Florida Action PAC said Florida's 2024 primary results were a rebuke of DeSantis, with two-thirds of his school board candidates losing, LGBTQ candidates advancing in legislative races, and 75 percent of the PAC's endorsed school board candidates winning or heading to runoffs.
Voting
Press Release ∙
LGBTQ Pioneer and Pro-Equality Champion Carlos Guillermo Smith Elected To Florida State Senate
Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former state representative endorsed by Equality Florida Action PAC, won election to the Florida State Senate in District 17, becoming the second openly LGBTQ member elected to the chamber in state history.
LGBTQ