1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I would like to address the ongoing legislative career of Randy Fine, which may not seem like your problem, given that he's in Florida, but I believe he's everyone's problem. Florida's borders are porous: he could decide to take his campaign of cruelty national at any time. Moreover,if there are children and families suffering at his hands in Florida, then we all have a moral obligation to defend them as vigorously as citizens of our own state. Randy Fine has made a career out of targeting the most vulnerable people in Florida — LGBTQ+ youth, immigrants, educators, anyone who does not fit neatly into his particular vision of who deserves to exist comfortably in public life. He has proposed legislation designed to humiliate, exclude, and endanger children. He has done so with the kind of enthusiastic self-righteousness that suggests he has never once considered that the children he is legislating against are, in fact, children. He compared members of the LGBTQ+ community to Nazis. He has advocated for policies that mental health professionals have clearly and repeatedly stated cause measurable harm to young people. He has done all of this while presenting himself as a defender of families, which is an interesting position for someone whose primary legislative legacy is making Florida less safe for the families that do not look like his. Florida deserves better than performative cruelty masquerading as family values. The children of Florida, just like children everywhere, deserve legislators who remember that their job is to protect people, not punish them for existing. I am asking you to wield every ounce of your influence to oppose Randy Fine's legislative agenda in its entirety, to support legislation that protects LGBTQ+ youth, and to perhaps consider whether someone this committed to causing harm to children should be anywhere near the levers of power.