LGBT BUSINESS OWNERS LEAVE SMALL FLORIDA TOWN AFTER FEARING FOR SAFETY

Kim Swan

When Joy Drawdy and her wife opened a business in June 2022, they connected with their clientele and the surrounding shop owners.

It was a gift shop selling clothes and crafts created by LGBT artists and People of Color. It was called Restless Mommas and located in Micanopy, a small town of 600 in north central Florida near Gainesville.

Drawdy said business was good, but everything came crashing down when Micanopy Commissioner Mike Roberts began making derogatory comments about their sexuality and presence in the city.

Drawdy heard of a conversation Roberts was a part of where he criticized their sexuality. A client of his asked if he knew the women who’d just opened a shop downtown.

“Do you mean the two lesbian women who bought a business downtown?” The Independent Florida Alligator reported.

This wasn’t the first time Roberts expressed his views on LGBT people. About 10 years ago,