JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The local LGBTQ community reacted swiftly Saturday after news broke that Joe Biden was now the president-elect.
Anxiety has been high, not just for Americans, but for people around the world, as we waited to hear who would become the next president of the United States.
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“I feel a combination of relief, joy and gratitude,” said Brandon Wolf, media relations manager for Equality Florida, the state’s largest network of advocacy organizations aimed at securing full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community. "This is a HUGE victory, not just for the LGBTQ community, but for the country; this is a total repudiation of Donald Trump -- of his brand of hatred and violence and division --and an opportunity for us as a nation to move forward and heal.
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Wolf said that from the moment President Donald Trump took office, the LGBTQ community felt as if they were under attack.
“The Trump Administration, from the moment they stepped foot in the Oval Office, has waged all out assault on LGBTQ Americans, rolled back protections, fought to remove the rights for same-sex couples to adopt children. They have tossed transgender service members out of the military. They have fought to remove protections for health care for LGBTQ Americans, so they have been at war with the LGBTQ community since Day 1,” Wolf said. “And on the flip side, in contrast, you have a Biden/Harris ticket and now a Biden/Harris administration, come January that has agreed to be, promised to be, the most pro-LGBTQ in the country’s history. This is really a turning point.”
Wolf said no matter who you voted for, this change in administration is a chance for the country to come together.
“To reject the kind of division and naked partisanship we have been living for, for so long,” Wolf said. “It’s an opportunity.”
Wolf will join The Morning Show on Sunday to elaborate on why he is excited to begin working with this administration and what he hopes to achieve for Florida’s LGBTQ community.