JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Riverside has always been a welcoming space for the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
During his second term, President Donald Trump implemented new executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and LGBTQ+ protections. It is leading to potential rollbacks of federal anti-discrimination safeguards, cuts to critical health and social services, and challenges to legal recognition.
And there’s legal uncertainty.
Jacksonville’s LGBTQ+ community faces a complicated legal landscape where state-level policies targeting LGBTQ+ individuals are upheld, while federal policy shifts potentially strip protections.
For example, federal executive orders have attempted to roll back LGBTQ+ protections under civil rights laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants in any aspect of employment based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy), or national origin.
Added to everything else, members of the LGBTQ+ community say it created further uncertainty for them.
That’s combined with what members of the local community call hostile state policies, which they say are creating a challenging environment for them.
Florida’s state government, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, passed several laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community. That includes expanding “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, the law that restricted classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Health care bans were implemented that penalize providers and restrict funds for gender-affirming care.
Then, in August and September of this year, Jacksonville’s rainbow-painted crosswalks in Riverside and other locations were removed to comply with a state directive prohibiting unauthorized pavement art.
This act was perceived as an erasure of LGBTQ+ visibility. The crosswalks were seen as a symbol of acceptance in a beloved safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Their removal triggered a negative emotional response in residents.
It did prompt a local artistic response from the JAX LGBT Chamber of Commerce. The group installed murals and sidewalk art to instill pride in the community and show their resilience.
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