GOP lawmakers take aim at LGBTQ+ ‘safe places’ program in small Florida town

MOUNT DORA, Fla. (AP) — Some central Florida lawmakers say they are considering “all legislative, legal and executive options available” to stop business owners in a small town from voluntarily displaying rainbow decals in their windows. Those displays indicate to LGBTQ+ people a “safe place” they can go if they feel threatened. Four Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to officials in Mount Dora two weeks ago warning that the new, optional city-sponsored program could put the community “in the crosshairs of potentially detrimental and absolutely unnecessary economic harm.” Mount Dora’s city council approved the Safe Place Initiative last month. The city of 17,000 residents is located outside of Orlando.