Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer joined other Florida mayors like Dan Gelber, Jane Castor and John Dailey in signing the Pledge to Protect LGBTQ+ youth from the GLSEN Rise Up Campaign.
In response to what they call “far-right” Republican legislation that passed in Florida and was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, mayors from Orlando, Miami Beach, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Hallandale, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, and Tampa signed the GLSEN pledge. Mayor Dyer, who is a Democrat, is currently seeking re-election again.
The pledge includes promising to:
- to advocate for safe learning environments where young people, their teachers, and school staff are free from the violence of racism, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, ableism, and all forms of systemic oppression.
- to advocate for LGBTQ+ affirming books, resources, and curriculum in schools.
- to rise up against hateful anti-LGBTQ+ bills and rhetoric.
GLSEN states they are a multi-racial, intergenerational LGBTQ+ organization working nationally and locally to transform K-12 educational systems in the United States.
“LGBTQ+ youth in Florida have faced relentless attacks from extremist politicians intent on silencing, excluding, and erasing them,” said GLSEN Executive Director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers. “We’re grateful for the leaders who have pledged to rise up in support of LGBTQ+ youth and policies that promote safe and inclusive schools. We stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+ youth and supportive parents and educators in Florida, and we’re never going to stop fighting for safe, inclusive, and affirming learning environments for all students.”
Florida’s mayors join gubernatorial and mayoral offices in DC, Massachusetts, and New York in supporting the campaign via proclamation. Mayors pledging to rise up for LGBTQ+ youth in their communities: Buddy Dyer, Orlando; Dan Gelber, Miami Beach; Dean Trantalis, Fort Lauderdale; Harvey Ward, Gainesville; Jane Castor, Tampa; Joy Cooper, Hallandale; John E. Daily, Tallahassee; Kenneth Welch, St. Petersburg.
“Florida’s young people and their families deserve a state that has their backs — a state committed to giving everyone a chance to thrive,” said Equality Florida Press Secretary Brandon Wolf. “Instead, right wing leaders in Tallahassee have plunged our education system into chaos to score political points. As the governor and his acolytes have used classrooms as political battlegrounds, local leaders have continued to push back and stand with students and families. The Rise Up campaign sends a clear message that Floridians are resisting DeSantis’ war on academic freedom and inclusion because young people and their families are worth fighting for.”
