TAMPA, Fla. — Two new Florida bills targeting the trans and LGBTQ community are headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk, adding to their growing list of concerns.
One bill keeps kids out of "adult live performances" which critics say targets drag shows. The other restricts access to treatment for trans kids and adults.
The passage by state lawmakers and looming signature of DeSantis are driving some people away from the state.
"I was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, and lived in Tampa until the 30th of March," Abbi said.
She's one of many who've chosen to leave. 10 Tampa Bay is concealing her last name for safety purposes. Abbi never thought she'd be forced to leave home, but knew it was the right decision.
"Just look at the docket for the state House. It's impossible. It's going to become impossible. I just didn't feel safe," Abbi said.
Now she feels for her friends who are trans and a part of the LGBTQ community still living in Florida. It's only been two weeks living up north, but the change is significant.
"Drove up to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I road tripped in a Volkswagen bug convertible with my two cats," Abbi said.
Now she says she feels free, realizing she doesn't get harassed and no one asks her questions.
"Up here it definitely feels different. I don't have to worry. I don't have to carry my pocket knife on me all the time," Abbi said.
She made the choice to transition two years ago. Whenever she looked in the mirror before, she knew it didn't feel right.
"The beginning of May is my two year anniversary. It was just time. I had a moment of reckoning with myself and I was tired of hiding after 44 years. It was time to be me and stop hiding. There's a lot that goes along with it that I never expected, but I've known since I was young, like 6, 7, 8 years old," Abbi said.
She says she hid because she never felt safe coming out. Now she wears a necklace of the estrogen molecule because she says it saved her life.
She fears what saved her life won't be able to save others after new legislation, like a bill now on DeSantis' desk that restricts access to treatment for trans kids and adults will make life dangerous for others like her.
"I've got so many friends who can't leave. I've got friends who are transgender and parents. I've got friends that are parents of transgender children and to see that they're going to have to go into back into the closet and have to hide, not be authentic to themselves, it's crushing. That's why I keep going," Abbi said.
As Abbi settles into her new home, she continues the old fight with LGBTQ and trans advocacy groups to give the community a voice.
"We're going to win. We've been here forever, we're going to be here forever. You can't kill us. You can't kill me, you can't kill my friends. There's more of us born every day and we're not going to stop. We don't deserve this, we deserve the right to exist in the freedom," Abbi said.