“I need to leave!” Massachusetts attracts LGBTQ people fleeing red states

BOSTON — LGBTQ people are packing up and moving out of their home states and many of them are relocating to Massachusetts.

Several LGBTQ advocacy groups in Boston told Boston 25 News they’ve been seeing an increase in LGBTQ people moving to the Commonwealth over the last few years.

They blame a wave of recent legislation taking aim at LGBTQ issues.

Governor Maura Healey has been pitching the state’s legal protections for LGBTQ people as a selling point for moving to Massachusetts.

Her tourism office has been running a Pride-themed advertising campaign in Florida and Texas with digital billboards and social media with the slogan “Massachusetts: For us all”.

“Having an advertisement like that reminds you that you’re safe here even if those larger decisions get rolled back,” said Eric Cmar, who recently moved out of Texas.

Cmar told Boston 25 News that he had finally reached a breaking point after more than a decade of living in Texas.

“I was like, I need to leave!,” he said. “All of those things started making me feel like I don’t know if I can live here safely.”

Cmar said Boston was among the cities he considered moving to during his recent relocation from Houston.

He ultimately decided to move to Los Angeles for a professional opportunity but said he isn’t ruling out a move to Massachusetts in the future.

“I just want to be somewhere where I don’t have to live with this burden,” he added.

Boston 25 News also spoke with a handful of others who did choose to move to Massachusetts from red states.

They included gay and lesbian parents who cited intolerance they felt at their children’s schools as one of the main reasons for their move.

Another identified herself as the mother of a trans child who said she was finally fed up when her home state banned gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18.

None wanted to go on camera or be named due to safety concerns.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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