Our partnerships make our work possible. The first State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released in 2019 was funded by a grant from the Gill Foundation. The Index is based on data graciously shared by the Movement Advancement Project and the Williams Institute. Ropes & Gray is our pro bono legal partner for the CEO Business Briefs globally, and their research informs this Index. FCB partnered with us to conduct original market research into American attitudes toward LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, informing the Regional Context section of the State CEO Briefs. America Competes supported the development of the scoring for the Risk Assessments, particularly for the Future Risk score.

Out Leadership and FCB partnered on original market research into the attitudes of American workers on LGBTQ+ inclusion, which fielded in 2019 and 2020. These briefs as a whole will be updated on an ongoing basis by Out Leadership because we recognize the ever-changing nature of policy on the local, state, and national level.

LGBTQ+ workers in the Southeast are the most likely to be out at work (54.4%), but they are also 25% more likely to feel that covering behaviors are important for workplace success. More broadly, non-LGBTQ+ workers in this region preferred for businesses to demonstrate their support for the LGBTQ+ community using internal initiatives (like hiring more LGBTQ+ employees and creating more inclusive HR policies). However, this group was 57% less likely to approve of more public demonstrations of support (like withdrawing sponsorship from sporting events in less inclusive areas). LGBTQ+ workers in this region are 39% more likely to support inclusive businesses and 17% more likely to consider LGBTQ+ friendliness in making spending decisions compared to the non-LGBTQ+ workers nationwide. However, there is a perception that state leadership speaks about the LGBTQ+ community in a more negative way (39% more likely than nationwide), which could partially explain why the LGBTQ+ workers in the Southeast are 19% more likely to say that they would be open to moving to a state with better LGBTQ+ support.

Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons for more or less likely are compared to the National results.  Regional results are based off of 1,500 respondents (LGBTQ+ and Non-LGBTQ+ responses have been weighted to be age-representative for each audience in each region).  National results are based off of 600 respondents representative of each audience (LGBTQ+ vs Non-LGBTQ+).

States in the Southeast region included: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Legal status of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community

In the wake of the 2020 Supreme Court Bostock decision extending antidiscrimination protections on the basis of sex to cover sexual orientation and gender identity, the state of Florida announced the intention to uphold the ruling there, granting its LGBTQ+ residents those protections for the first time state-wide. 

There are no explicit prohibitions against second-parent adoptions in the state of Florida. However, second-parent adoption is more complex and expensive than step-parent adoption, as it requires a home study and additional paperwork.

In Florida it is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine for an HIV+ person to have sexual intercourse without disclosing their status (given that they are aware of their HIV+ status and have been informed that it is sexually transmittable). A failure to disclose HIV+ status on multiple occasions is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment.

Sexual orientation has been included in Florida’s hate crimes law since 1991.

The state legislature routinely considers “preemption” bills that would prevent municipalities from making and enforcing some laws, including LGBTQ+ protections, if there’s a state law on the books addressing it. At least one bill, proposed in 2018, intentionally targeted LGBTQ+ protections, but a number of other bills have unintentionally threatened LGBTQ+ protections.

A 2018 Williams Institute survey in northeastern Florida reported that three quarters of LGBTQ+ respondents experienced discrimination in their everyday life.

Legal status of the Transgender Community

In December 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that it is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination for a government agent to fire a transgender employee because of their gender non-conformity in Glenn v Brumby.

Florida administrative rules include protections against discrimination in the child welfare system on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and the laws require LGBTQ+ competency training for staff working with children.

In 2021, Florida lawmakers passed a bill that bans trans women students from playing on girls’ sports teams – and allows schools to require genital exams before allowing students to participate.

Individuals in Florida can amend their legal gender on their birth certificate and driver’s license. For birth certificates, individuals must submit an application and affidavit, a signed letter from a physician confirming appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition, and payment of the amendment fee. For a driver’s license, individuals must submit a court order for the change and/or a signed letter from a physician confirming appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition. Gender confirmation surgery is not required.

Neither gender nor gender identity are currently included in the state’s hate crimes protections. Legislation was introduced in 2019 to include gender identity, but it was shelved indefinitely in March 2020.

A federal judge in Florida ruled in 2018 that a transgender woman incarcerated in the state, Reiyn Keohane, must be permitted to dress and groom herself in accordance with her gender identity.

Florida does not have any explicit State Medicaid policy regarding transgender healthcare coverage, and no laws banning transgender healthcare exclusions by insurers. In 2020, two trans state employees sued over the care exclusion, arguing it violates the Constitution and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 

The state also lacks insurance nondiscrimination protections for gender identity and sexual orientation.

Government statements and actions

One of the most notable pieces of legislation to affect the LGBTQ+ community this last year was the “Don’t Say Gay” bill passed in March of 2022 by Governor Ron  DeSantis. This bill bans public school districts from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade. Supporters of the bill claim that this content is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students, while LGBTQ+ advocates counter that this policy hurts LGBTQ+ children and families. Nonetheless, the bill’s passage sparked a wildfire of copycat bills around the country. 

Both houses of the state legislature in 2021 passed a bill that would deem parents a protected class, worrying LGBTQ+ advocates who say the designation would entitle parents to full school records, potentially outing a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

A bill that would ban the gay panic defense in Florida passed out of committe and then died in the state senate during the 2021 legislative session.

In one of his first acts as Governor, Ron DeSantis signed a nondiscrimination order for state employees that failed to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. DeSantis holds a 0 rating from the Human Rights Campaign based on his voting record on LGBTQ+ issues in Congress.

In the wake of the 2016 Pulse massacre, then Governor Rick Scott, now the state’s junior senator, promised leaders of Equality Florida that he would take action on an Executive Order extending protections to LGBTQ+ state workers, but never did so.

Orlando City Council announced the approval of a memorial for the Pulse Nightclub shooting victims in March 2019 at a local cemetery. The 2016 shooting is the deadliest crime against LGBTQ+ people in U.S. history. In 2021, State Sen. Linda Stewart announced a $2.3 million budget appropriation that includes funds for counseling for survivors and for housing homeless LGBTQ+ youths.

Senator Marco Rubio has said that “you have to really have a ridiculous and absurd reading of the U.S. constitution to reach the conclusion that people have a right to marry someone of the same sex.”

Rubio has also said that “the most important thing the next President will do is appoint Supreme Court justices” opposed to rulings like Obergefell v Hodges, and has suggested that Supreme Court appointments are the best way to reverse the historic ruling and roll back progress.