Organizers of a planned national march to denounce "hate" legislation next month in South Florida say the "basic constitutional rights" of women, LGBTQ, immigrants, Blacks and others are being threatened in Florida and across the country.
The “We The People National March” organizers say they represent those “tired of being told what books they can read, what words they can or can’t say, how they can express themselves, and what they can do with their own bodies.”
“Basic constitutional rights are under attack, and We The People cannot stay silent,” they said in a statement released before a press conference Wednesday at Esplanade Park in Fort Lauderdale.
The park is the location of the planned July 2 march and rally. About 2,000 people have already registered for it.
Ebonni Chrispin, director of legislative affairs at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Fort Lauderdale, is among those who helped organize dozens of other activist groups to join.
“We see the impact of legislation hit a lot of different groups: women, men, gay, straight, old, young. I can tell you firsthand, it doesn't matter your race, creed or how much money you have,” Chrispin told WLRN.
The activists said more than 1,000 pieces of legislation have been introduced in state legislatures throughout the country that discriminate against women, LGBTQ, immigrants, Blacks and others.
Calling Florida “the epicenter of the battle,” march organizers will call attention to the contentious policies of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who last month announced his 2024 presidental campaign.
Heralding his state as a place “where woke goes to die,” DeSantis has framed his White House campaign around a desire to bring the conservative policies he championed in Florida to the national stage.
He has made a name for himself battling with Disney over the entertainment giant's opposition to a bill dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues in Florida public schools for all grades.
Under his governorship, the state has also banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and blocked public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs.
The activists gathered Wednesday at Esplanade Park mostly spoke out against those policies supported by DeSantis.
Some of the groups rallying include the League of Women Voters, Florida Rising, the Florida Democratic Party and multiple LGBTQ activist organizations.
Robert Boo, the CEO of The Pride Center at Equality Park in Wilton Manors, said his organization and the people it represents "will not be shoved back into the corner" by anti-LGBTQ legislation.
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“We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this month, and I feel like we are stepping back 30 years from where we started and we will not be shoved back into the corner. That is why we are marching,” Boo said.
Over 2,000 people have registered for the march, according to organizers.
Chrispin says she wants people to walk away from the rally realizing they can make a change at a local level.
“I think for us, success looks like going back to your city council and saying, ‘What can we do locally in order to help ensure people's freedoms’ and creating the kind of groundswell that takes that back to the federal level,” Chrispin said.
Among some of the major national figures scheduled to join the rally: Mexican American civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, Parkland shooting survivor and gun control activist David Hogg and National Urban League President Marc H. Morial.
Find more information about the march and rally at the "We The People National March" website.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
