Just hours before Monday's deadline to
file new bills for the 2020 legislative session, seven Republican
lawmakers in Florida filed four anti-LGBT bills.
According to NBC
News, the bills propose to “ban gender-affirming health care
for transgender children, repeal municipal and county ordinances
protecting LGBTQ workers, and legalize so-called gay conversion
therapy in places that had banned the medically debunked practice.”
The bills were introduced by
Representatives Anthony Sabatini, Bob Rommel, Michael Grant and Byron
Donalds and Senators Joe Gruters and Keith Perry.
Out Representative Shevrin Jones, a
Democrat, called the bills “shameful.”
“Clearly they've decided that
discrimination and hate are central to their election-year platform
despite our state's incredible diversity,” Jones said in a
statement. “Just as I've done since I was elected in 2012, I will
continue to fight any legislation that marginalizes or threatens any
Floridian's shot at a secure, safe, and bright quality of life."
Florida has a large LGBT population and
many municipalities have advanced protections in the face of inaction
from state lawmakers. If approved, these bills would claw back
ordinances approved by local leaders, similar to how North Carolina
in 2016 approved House Bill 2 to repeal Charlotte's LGBT protections.
The legislation led to boycotts of the state.