Today is a great day for equal rights. All Americans, regardless of who you love or how you identify, deserve the right to be treated with dignity and respect and for that right to be protected. That is why this legislation which extends civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ Americans is so essential. I applaud our Florida Congressional Democrats for all voting to pass this historic legislation and I congratulate the advocates so worked so hard to get us to this day. While the work is far from over, this is an essential step in the right direction. I also need to call on our Florida Congressional Republicans to do better. The LGBTQ+ members of our community deserve so much more than the bigotry and hatred that these Republican congresspeople showed today by voting against this legislation.