In the wake of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing HB 1557, the Parent Rights in Education Bill, New York City Mayor Eric Adams launched a set of ads in Florida designed to recruit LGBT Floridians and their businesses to New York.
Adams called the Florida bill “the latest shameful, extremist culture war targeting the LGBTQ+ community.”
“Come to the city where you can say whatever you want,” one of the ads said, and that “People say a lot of ridiculous things in New York. ‘Don’t Say Gay’ isn’t one of them.”
Adams’ ad immediately used the adopted phraseology of the mainstream media and progressives in calling the Florida law the “Don’t Say Gay” bill despite “gay” not being in the text of the legislation. Instead, the bill prohibits public school teachers from engaging in sexual orientation and gender conversations for kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis responded to the ads by saying Adams would “muzzle” you through government force.
“They locked kids out of school for a year in most of this country,” DeSantis said during a press release. “We had them in school, we made sure they could go. We said, ‘you shouldn’t have to wear a mask for eight hours a day, like they make you in New York City.’ If you’re 3 years old, they make the toddlers wear masks.”
DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw took to Twitter to also criticize the mayor.
“Today, @NYCMayor held a press conference to beg Floridians to move to NYC, after half the city moved to Florida to escape covidian dictatorship,” Pushaw said. “At the presser, a city employee (& mom) asked the mayor why NYC is still masking toddlers. She was promptly fired. Can’t make this up.”
Today, @NYCMayor held a press conference to beg Floridians to move to NYC, after half the city moved to Florida to escape covidian dictatorship. At the presser, a city employee (& mom) asked the mayor why NYC is still masking toddlers. She was promptly fired. Can’t make this up.
— Christina Pushaw 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) April 5, 2022
Despite the scrutiny from left-leaning politicians and media outlets, a recent poll indicated that as many as 52 percent of Democrat voters in Florida are supportive of the legislation.
Data in the last few years also indicates that thousands of New Yorkers are fleeing their home state for a better tax climate and less government intrusion for Florida.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 33,565 New York residents got a Florida driver’s license from September 2020 through March 2021. The number also seems to only be increasing.
The Florida Office of Economic & Demographic Research also predicted the State of Florida’s population to grow with movers from all across the country.
“Between April 1, 2021 and April 1, 2026, population growth is expected to average 309,867 net new residents per year (849 per day), representing a compound growth rate of 1.41 percent over this five‐year time horizon,” a state report said. “These increases are analogous to adding a city about the size of Orlando every year.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Eric Adams” by Eric Adams.
