When I testified in Tallahassee against Senate Bill 1710, a bill to ban DEI in Florida’s medical schools, I knew we were fighting an uphill battle. What I didn’t expect was how fast they’d crush us.
Ten minutes after I left the podium, I sat outside and watched the livestream. The bill passed.
I had just spoken about the necessity of culturally competent care for marginalized patients. I shared that I was living with multiple sclerosis and that this bill would produce doctors who are less prepared to treat people like me. And still, 10 minutes later, it was over. The bill had passed to committee but ultimately failed later in the legislative session.
It was clear they had already made up their minds. My story, our stories, were just background noise.
This is what democracy feels like in Florida right now: performative at best, rigged at worst. You can drive ten hours to share your truth, and the people in power will barely look up.
But here’s the thing they don’t expect: we’ll keep showing up. Not because we think they’ll suddenly grow a conscience, but because resistance is about more than results. It’s about refusing to be erased quietly. It’s about documenting what happened — for the record, the future, and ourselves.
These lawmakers can pass every anti-DEI bill they want, but they can’t stop the cultural shift already underway. Queer and trans medical students, patients, and professionals exist. We’re not going anywhere. And we will keep demanding better.
So if you’re exhausted by Florida politics, same. But please don’t check out. Speak up. Show up. Testify, even when they ignore you. Volunteer. Organize locally. Because every time we tell the truth in public, we remind each other that we’re not alone. And that might be what gets us through.
Editor's Note: Mary Rasura received a Lobby Days Scholarship from SAVE LGBTQ, which covered travel, lodging, and meals for South Florida residents to lobby in Tallahassee.
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