Hordes of LGBTQ+ people are headed to Florida to participate in Walt Disney World’s annual “Gay Days,” despite a prominent LGBT organization’s warning that the state is homophobic and should be avoided.
The event, held from May 31 to June 4, has celebrated the LGBT community at Disney World since 1991. The celebration includes drag bingo, pool parties and an exposition, among other events. Gay Days organizers have been encouraging members of the LGBT community to show up to this year’s festivities in large numbers, despite warnings to avoid the state. (RELATED: Disney Announces ‘Pride Nite’ Amid Ongoing Battle With DeSantis)
USA Today reported Thursday that more than 100,000 people had already arrived for the celebration.
Gay Days at Disney brings more than 100,000 together at the most magical place on Earth! https://t.co/sGtPu1J1Ru pic.twitter.com/m6KoVrlIGJ
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 1, 2023
“Right now is not the time to run. It’s not the time to go away,” said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc. “It’s time to show we are here, we are queer and we aren’t going anywhere.”
In April, LGBT advocacy group Equality Florida issued a “travel advisory” for the state, citing “the passage of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ community.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a variety of laws that critics have labeled as homophobic or transphobic. The Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, originally restricted the teaching of gender and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade and required that discussions of those topics in later grades be age appropriate. The bill also instructed schools to inform parents of changes in a child’s mental or emotional health services at school. The DeSantis administration has considered expanding the law through grade 12.
Florida also passed a law banning minors from attending drag shows. This law triggered a lawsuit from restaurant chain Hamburger Mary’s, claiming that it violates their First Amendment rights.
