Large gaming event set for Florida canceled because of Don’t Say Gay law

The organizers of a gaming convention who originally planned to hold their event in Florida have canceled, citing both Florida’s lax COVID-19 policies and its hardline anti-LGBTQ stance. The group said that the state is no longer “a safe place for our community.”

“While we would love to return in-person, we’ve determined that to provide a safe and welcoming event to all, it was best that we move away from our originally planned location in Florida,” the website for Games Done Quick (GDQ) says. “Given the state’s continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers (including anti-mandate vaccination policies) and an increased aggression toward LGBTQ+ individuals, including the law colloquially known as ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ we do not believe it is a safe place for our community at this time.”

GDQ organizes charity events that involve speed runs, or shows of video game skill where players finish games as fast as possible, often using programming bugs creatively and employing novel strategies that game developers didn’t anticipate.

The group’s upcoming winter event — Awesome Games Done Quick — was originally planned to be held in Orlando in January 2023 and was going to be GDQ’s return to in-person events after two years of virtual-only events due to the COVID pandemic. The event will be a fundraiser for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

Several prominent speedrunners who participate in GDQ events are transgender, and transgender people have been especially targeted by Florida Republicans. In the past several years, the state has passed…

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