Drag2Talle Movement Opposes Anti-Trans, DEI Bills In FL

FLORIDA — Now in its third year, the Drag2Talle movement continues to inspire members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies to travel to Tallahassee during Florida’s 2025 legislative session to protest and speak out against laws targeting the queer community and other groups.

This year, the movement, led by drag performers who are combining their artform with activism, kicked off the legislative session by attending Equality Florida’s Pride at the Capitol March 18 and 19, followed by the March 20 Let Us Live March.

About 500 people showed up for the march, many of them going to the capital to speak, Lilith Black, a St. Petersburg-based performer and organizer with the Drag2Talle group based in the Tampa Bay area, told Patch.

“It was an unprecedented turnout,” they said, adding that more than ever people are “seeing the damage being done (by legislation.) People are asking, ‘What can I do to help?’ Anybody can go (to Tallahassee) and have their voice be heard, ask legislators questions. People are finding their voice.”

Drag2Talle’s work has continued after the Let Us Live March, as each week volunteers and activists travel to Tallahassee to attend the legislative session, which runs through May 2.

The Tampa Bay-area group travels to the state capitol at least one day each week, sometimes more. The group is looking for volunteers willing to drive to Tallahassee, and activists, as well as donations to offset the cost of travel.

They meet with state legislators and speak at hearings on various bills. Their presence even helped get votes on several bills they disagreed with — SB 1710, which would target certain diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including the use of federal funding for DEI offices at state agencies, and SB 440 on gender identity employment practices — pushed back by a week because there were so many commenters, according to Black.

There are about 20 bills on their radar this session, they added.

The group’s work in Tallahassee is also important on a national level, Black noted.

“Florida is a bit of a testing ground for a lot of not just anti-queer bills, but we’re seeing a lot of anti-DEI this year, as well as attacks on employment, also schooling,” Black said. “Florida tends to be where conservatives test what they can get away with. Then, they’re copied in other states and federally.”

The Drag2Talle movement launched in 2023 when recently elected U.S. House Rep. Randy Fine, at the time a Florida state senator, and other Republican leaders supported bills that targeted drag performers across the state, including one that criminalized allowing children to attend performances deemed “sexually explicit.”

“Now, we represent so many people,” Black said. “There are a lot of people with disabilities and other people impacted in different ways than just the anti-trans and anti-DEI bills. It’s important for us to represent them as well. People are feeling empowered and finding their voice.”