New York City Mayor Adams has begun a vociferous campaign expressing his opposition to Florida Governor DeSantis’ so called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

NBC News:

Starting Monday, Mayor Eric Adams is wallpapering the Sunshine State with digital billboards espousing New York City’s vociferous opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law, he said Monday.

The GOP legislation, which has drawn intense national scrutiny, bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, which the mayor called a “targeted attack on the LGBTQ+ population.”

The billboards, Adams said from City Hall, will be up for eight weeks in five major Florida markets, including Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach, and are expected to deliver an estimated 5 million impressions.

“This is the city of Stonewall. This is the city where we are proud to talk about how you can live in a comfortable setting and not be harassed, not be abused — not only as adults but also as young people.”

The campaign started Monday and runs through May 29. Creative content was donated by WPP agencies including VMLY&R, BCW, H+K Strategies and Kinetic, Adams said. Kinetic secured the ad space.

The mayor displayed some billboard samples as he made the announcement.

“People say a lot of ridiculous things in New York. ‘Don’t Say Gay’ isn’t one of them,” one reads. Another says, “When other states show their true colors. We show ours.”

The message is simple — and directed at Florida’s LGBTQ community, Adams said: “Listen, hey, we want you in New York.” Come here where you can be you.

The Democrat forcefully denounced the Florida law, calling it “political showmanship” and accusing DeSantis’ administration and GOP supporters of “attempting to demonize a particular group or community.

Adams called that “unacceptable” and said the city plans to loudly voice its support in the other direction. He acknowledged everyone’s right to self-identification, saying that at some times, it can be a literal matter of life and death.

“Other people like to hide their color,” Adams said. “We like to show our color and that’s the rainbow that’s representative of this community.”

“This is not a community that’s going to be silent,” Adams said when asked about the hires Monday. “If they see something they don’t like, they’ll let you know.”

“We can work through anything but we will never go to the days where we will publicly demonize a group, and that’s what’s happening now,” he added. “And so they voiced their concern about the hires that we made and we’re going to continue to move forward.”

New York state has seen more migration to Florida than from Florida in recent years. In the last three years of the 2010s, more than 60,000 New Yorkers moved to Florida each year, on average. By contrast, during the same period, fewer than 24,000 Floridians moved to New York state, according to federal figures.