Ron DeSantis campaign director gleefully celebrates queer families escaping Florida
Christina Pushaw has tweeted in celebration of LGBTQ+ families leaving Florida due to legislative Republican attacks. (Getty)
A member of Republican governor Ron DeSantis’ reelection campaign is celebrating queer families leaving Florida due to its anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
The former press secretary turned campaign staffer tweeted her disdain for families choosing to leave the state due to repressive laws implemented by DeSantis.
Christina Pushaw, who works as DeSantis’ rapid response director, quote tweeted an article about the number of LGBTQ+ parents leaving the state with a waving hand emoji.
The piece, published by Florida’s Voice details a UCLA Williams Institute survey, which found that more than half of the 113 LGBTQ+ parents it collected data from in Florida had considered moving because of the state’s controversial Don’t Say Gay bill.
Seventeen per cent of the surveyed parents have already taken steps to move from the state, while 11 per cent have considered private schooling as a measure to prevent discrimination.
In a separate reply to the article, Pushaw said that the word ‘queer’ is an “insult and a left-wing political identity, not an orientation”.
She added: “Most people, gay or straight, oppose the idea of classroom instruction for young children about sexuality and ‘gender’ ideology. Those who don’t should move to California.”
There is no evidence to suggest that this is true. In fact, evidence collected by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in March 2022 suggests that the volume of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the US does not align with public opinion.
In fact, support for LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protections is the highest it’s ever been, with 79 per cent of Americans favouring laws that would protect LGBTQ+ people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing.
During the lead up to DeSantis signing the Don’t Say Gay bill into law, HRC found that 80 per cent of Floridians supported LGBTQ+ protection laws.
Christina Pushaw is no stranger to controversy. Her move from press secretary to rapid response director saw her “belatedly” disclose that she had previously worked for Mikheil Saakashvili, president of former Soviet republic, Georgia. The Washington Post reported that she registered as a ‘foreign agent’ in June 2022.
Ron DeSantis disregarded the reports, calling them a “smear” at the time.
Pushaw has also been heavily criticised for her association and alleged friendship with Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik. The two interacted at least 138 times online since June 2021.
She is also known for falling for, and sharing, misinformation about a supposedly homophobic dog.
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