Florida Republican chairman wants ‘perverted’ parents of LGBTQ+ youth to leave the state

The chairman of the Republican Party of Florida has said he is pleased that “perverted” families are leaving the state in droves, following the crackdown on LGBTQ+ lives.

Christian Ziegler described LGBTQ+ families fleeing the state as “perverted”, in a statement following a survey which showed the number of people escaping Florida.

A survey published by the Williams Institute this month found that 40 per cent of respondents want to leave Florida, while 11 per cent said they were “very likely” to do so in the next two years.

These responses were specifically in reaction to the state’s LGBTQ+ school censorship law, dubbed Don’t Say Gay, which prevents discussions about queer people in early-grade classrooms.

Speaking to the Washington Examiner, Ziegler said: “Over 60 per cent of voters support the actual language in the law, including 55 per cent of Democrats.

“With that said, if a Democrat voter is passionate and perverted enough to support the sexualisation of kids during school in grades as early as kindergarten, then I would agree that Florida is probably not the best fit for them.”

Ziegler did not produce evidence for the numbers in his statement, and the Williams Institute survey found that just 29 per cent of Democratic parents supported the bill.

One-third of participants said they disagreed with the original Don’t Say Gay bill, while 46 per cent opposed its expansion to pupils up to grade 12, students possibly as old as 18.

The accusation of “sexualising kids” is also seemingly built on the false “groomer” conspiracy theory which purports that anything relating to the LGBTQ+ community is inherently adult and should not be viewed by minors.

Those who voiced disagreement with the bill in the survey reportedly emphasised the belief that children must learn about gender and sexuality as part of their education.

The group also voiced concern about a push towards “fascism” within the state government due to bills such as Don’t Say Gay.

The rescinding of LGBTQ+ rights by Florida governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t stopped at censoring LGBTQ+ expression and education.

The Republican presidential hopeful has also tried to ban gender-affirming care and force schools to use the wrong pronouns for trans students. His anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has become so severe that queer advocacy groups have issued travel advisory warnings for marginalised groups planning to visit the Sunshine State.