TAMPA, Fla. — The mayor of New York City announced a new digital billboard campaign in five Florida cities, including Tampa, that condemns the recently passed Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law.
Mayor Eric Adams said the billboards would display in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando and West Palm Beach, in addition to Tampa.
In a press release, the mayor's office said the billboard will deliver an estimated 5 million impressions and will reaffirm Adams' "commitment and unconditional support for the LGBTQ+ community."
“I am the mayor of New York City, but I have a message for Florida’s LGBTQ+ community — come to a city where you can say and be whoever you want,” said Mayor Adams. “Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is the latest shameful, extremist culture war targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Today, we say to the families living in fear of this state-sponsored discrimination that you will always have a home in New York City.”
DeSantis signed HB 1557 into law last week while at a Spring Hill school. Since then, a lawsuit has already been filed claiming the law is "an unlawful attempt to stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools."
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The law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.
According to DeSantis, it also, "ensures that at the beginning of every school year, parents will be notified about health care services offered at the school with the right to decline any service offered," and "ensures that whenever a questionnaire or health screening is given to our young students, parents receive it first and give permission for the school to give it to their child."
While the law has gained widespread criticism, DeSantis and Republicans have repeatedly said the measure is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be broaching subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children.
The billboards, seen below, were designed in partnership with WPP companies, VMLY&R, GroupM, BCW, and H+K Strategies. All of the donated ad space was secured by Kinetic, a GroupM company.
They will run from April 4 through May 29.
