The bill aimed, among other restrictions, to further restrict access to gender-affirming care.
As Casey read, a wave of panic took hold.
This was the news she had feared most.
Elly Fishman
After work, Caseys head swirled.
She then checked her bank account.
She had about $3,000 saved.
Over the next two months, Casey put her plan in place.
She took on extra hours at work and listed their house on the market.
The couple sold what they could a camper, two canoes.
When they learned the bill had been approved on Thursday, May 4, Casey didnt hesitate.
We had about 24 hours.
The impact is so broad, she says, its impossible to really count and quantify.
Its a little overwhelming to contemplate.
The migration trend reflects a deepening division in America.
According to the ACLU, some 530 anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed across the country.
Eighteen states have also passed near-total bans on abortion.
I fear the direction of this country and the freedom we take for granted.
The stakes in November really couldnt be higher.
This splintering has become a prominent talking point in the presidential race.
But even if elected, it would be hard for Harris to pass such a bill.
Some Trump allies push for more extreme changes.
It goes so far to suggest that educators who support transgender identities should be registered as sex offenders.
It feels like an explicit relegation to second-class citizenship.
(Plus a six-week abortion ban that went into effect earlier this year.)
But Casey and Jamie first noticed a shift in their neighborhood even before any new laws were passed.
The changes began shortly after Trump was elected in 2016.
The hostility hit closer to home when Jamie came out in 2020.
The neighbor across the street responded by telling us we were going to hell, recalls Casey.
People were showing their true colors, says Jamie.
Then, in March 2023, Florida Senate Bill 254 began to take shape.
The bill formally established a wide range of restrictions on trans healthcare that DeSantis first introduced in 2022.
The bill also required transgender adults seeking care to obtain consent from a medical provider.
The restrictions would impact Jamies medical care.
Though the wording was somewhat ambiguous, every possible interpretation left Casey alarmed.
The other narrowing factor was affordability.
When Jamie pulled up to the house, there was a large pride flag hanging over the front door.
That first night in Carbondale, Casey and Jamie piled a set of travel mattresses on the floor.
They ordered Chinese food and ate dinner on empty milk crates.
The next morning, they crafted a plan for a new beginning.
Outside, the temperature hovers around 95 degrees, and both Casey and Jamie revel in the wet humidity.
The heat reminds them of Florida nights.
When youre hit by a wave of heat and the sunlight so bright that youre blinded temporarily.
The thought unravels into a longer reflection.
I love how sand is everywhere in Florida.
On your floors and in your car.
Casey, who keeps her hair buzzed short, dons a fitted tank top that reveals her 12 tattoos.
Her newest ink represents a Floridian palm tree.
I tend to get a tattoo when something is wrapped up, says Casey.
Those palm trees are everywhere in Florida.
They make a certain noise when they rustle, when the wind goes through.
Looking at a palm tree, I can feel like Im back in that place.
I remember we spent the first night here, and I said, Whats wrong with the trees?
chuckles Jamie, 38, whod never been north of North Carolina.
Rents have risen, too, reaching upward of $2,000 for a two-bedroom in either city.
Its like a sense of nostalgia, says Casey, reflecting on the Florida she knew as a girl.
Its almost this sense that home doesnt exist anymore because it will never be what it was.
Moments later, Angelo, 12, the younger of the two siblings, bounds into the room.
They are taking a break from one of their manyMinecraftgames.
Angelo props themself against a small, three-drawer cabinet that rests against the wall.
The cabinet remains the only furniture they brought from Florida.
She lived on a fixed income, and had almost nothing to spare, but took me anyway.
I saw that cabinet and thought it looked kind of rustic.
Casey laughs at the memory.
I had to bring it.
Nearly everything in the familys Carbondale home is new.
Most was found by the road or bought at the dollar store or Walmart.
No one has accumulated more stuff, however, than 13-year-old Marie.
At one point, the conversation naturally drifts to a timeless, quintessential teen topic.
Carbondale is crap, says one friend.
I cant wait to get out of here.
Were the only blue area that accepts LGBTQ people in this whole entire state, retorts the other.
Just take what you have.
We are the best of Southern Illinois.
CARBONDALE, A LIBERAL COLLEGE TOWN amidst miles of conservative farmland, is not easily defined.
We have become the hot spot, says Carrie Vine, the executive director at Rainbow Cafe.
Carbondale is more accessible for people coming from places like Texas, Florida, or Tennessee.
The weather is more temperate too, adds Vine.
But state protections only go so far.
The Supreme Court is currently considering a case that could result in a federal ruling on transgender health care.
Its unnerving to see policymakers wanting to legislate medical decisions.
If the court accepts the case, a decision is expected by June.
The demand, she says, shows no sign of slowing.
I just hope we remain relatively safe and secure here in Carbondale.
ITS JUST PAST 9 A.M.
WHEN Casey, Jamie, and their kids emerge from Union Station, Chicagos central train hub.
The event brings a welcome dose of joy.
But Casey and Jamie are in Chicago for another reason, too.
Its been more than a year since theyve seen the ocean.
Ive followed along with what has happened in Texas and Tennessee, says Casey.
Around 4 p.m, Lake Michigan finally comes into view.
Jamie stops just short of the water.
Standing here, I just think about the hatred that made me leave my home.
I lived there for 37 years; its all Ive known.
Jamie pauses, overcome.
Being at the water again, its priceless.
