Florida Governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis has signed so many draconian anti-LGBTQ+ laws that this has triggered a “mass migration” out of the state, according to a Pride organizer.

We’re now hearing that several transgender people are using GoFundMe to solicit donations to move out of the state, The Independent reports.

Sadly, a number of Pride groups in Florida have canceled celebrations that were scheduled to take place in June because these new laws have left the community worried about possible repercussions.

Considering the situation in Florida it’s understandable that folks in this community are afraid, but there are a few brave souls who aren’t going to let these ridiculous new laws ruin their happiness. In an interview on The Daily Beast’s podcast The New Abnormal, Danielle Olivani, president and CEO of Lake County Pride said their events will continue as scheduled.

“It’s not exactly being welcomed by the community where we’re having it. In fact, yesterday I just got a cease-and-desist from them, telling me not to mention them at all. They don’t want this to take place, but we’re gonna persevere,” Olivani said. “We’re gonna have this Pride, because we’re fully within our rights to do so. And you know, we’re just gonna deal with things as they go. But right now, it’s a mixture of apprehension, fear. Yet, I’m hopeful at the same time.”

When asked about what it’s like to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community in rural Florida, Olivani said “there’s no tolerance here.” They added that younger members of the community have been especially affected by the new restrictions signed by DeSantis. That, they said has led to a “mass migration” out of Florida.

“It’s too much,” Olivani said.

And, according to The Advocate, the number of trans people asking for donations on GoFundMe so they can leave the state could be in the dozens or hundreds.

In a statement, GoFundMe spokesperson Brian Hill said: “in the wake of more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced in state legislatures across the United States in 2023, families and trans individuals are looking to leave their respective state as they could face more obstacles when it comes to access essential services related to healthcare as well as education.”

And DeSantis’s oppressive new laws are making life difficult for many in the LGBTQ+ community.

Floridian Sage Chelf, for instance, is using GoFundMe to finance their move to Illinois on the platform. Chelf, a trans woman who currently lives in Orlando wrote on their fundraising page that “due to the new bill DeSantis signed into law SB 254 I can no longer be provided medication from my doctor to continue my transition.”

“At this point, I only have a week’s worth left of my medication. On top of that, the new bathroom ban bill HB 1521 could get me arrested for using a public restroom of the gender I identify with,” they wrote. “Due to fear for my own safety and human rights, I have decided to try and escape Florida as soon as I possibly can. I’m trying to move to Illinois to be with the love of my life and also to settle down in a state I consider to be an LGBTQ+ safe haven.”

“I just wanna live in a place where I don’t live in fear. Thank you all so much any help is highly appreciated. I’ve never done this before so I figured I’d set the goal at like $2,500,” they added.

Violet Rin, who’s a trans woman, has pinned their hopes on New Mexico because “Florida continues to get worse,” and writes on their GoFundMe:

“SB254 along with a slew of other Anti-trans bills have passed, and SB254 affects me directly. My care provider for my HRT had to drop me, and so many trans people in Florida are being dropped by their care providers,” Rin noted.

DeSantis signed a number of bills that target trans people directly. These bills limit gender-affirming care for minors, prohibit people from using restrooms that match their gender identity, and ban people from using their preferred pronouns in schools. Restrictions were also imposed on drag shows.

“We are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that,” DeSantis said as he signed the bills at a Tampa evangelical school.

Those bills received well-deserved criticism from LGBTQ+ rights advocates.

Former Florida state representative Carlos Guillermo Smith, the first openly LGBTQ+ Latino to be elected to the state legislature, ripped the cruel bills on Twitter, saying the bills are “revoking our freedoms and ruining people’s lives in his quest for political power.”

“We will NOT be erased,” he wrote. “We will RESIST. We will FIGHT BACK. We will proudly RAISE OUR FLAGS. We will WIN.”

Ron DeSantis just signed the largest slate of anti-LGBTQ bills in Florida history revoking our freedoms and ruining people's lives in his quest for political power.

We will NOT be erased.
We will RESIST.
We will FIGHT BACK.
We will proudly RAISE OUR FLAGS.
We will WIN. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) May 17, 2023

State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani criticized DeSantis for pushing “an extreme agenda that is fueled by disinformation, isolating already marginalized people.

And indeed, he’s doing just that. He has single-handedly set back rights for LGBTQ+ people for decades. Eskamani noted:

“In Florida, diversity is our strength — not a weakness or something to demonize and be afraid of.”

Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group released a statement saying that the bills revealed a “callous disregard for LGBTQ+ Floridians and, in particular, trans youth by facilitating homophobia and transphobia and exposing this most vulnerable population to discrimination.

Democratic Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones, who is gay, said in an interview with CNN that Republicans “have cloaked themselves in being the party of less government and parental rights, and what we’re seeing now is the total opposite.”

“Every other parent has the right to raise their child the way that they want to as long as your child is not gay, trans, bisexual. That’s freedom for some parents but not for all parents,” he said.

Jones is not wrong. DeSantis has made Florida a safe haven for bigots. He’s a huge bigot himself so he’s made it safe for his own kind, who have no tolerance for anyone else. What do you think he’ll do to the U.S. if he becomes president?