'Fear and hostility': DeSantis legislation prompts Florida cities to cancel, restrict Pride events

Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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At least two Florida cities have seen Pride celebrations canceled in the wake of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signing bills impacting the LGBTQ community.

DeSantis last month signed four bills into law that directly or indirectly target the LGBTQ community, the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.

Legislation in the state restricts gender-affirming care, requires people to use bathrooms aligning with their sex assigned at birth, bans kids from attending “adult live performances” and more.

The NAACP last month issued a travel advisory to the state, calling DeSantis’ policies “openly hostile” to people of color and LGBTQ individuals. Jeremy Redfern, the governor's press secretary, criticized the move as “stunt.”

But organizers in St. Cloud, Florida, located about 25 miles south of Orlando, on May 18 canceled a Pride event scheduled for June 10. The organizers shared on Facebook that “This decision was not made lightly. We have been working hard to plan this event for months, and we were excited to celebrate our community with you.”

“These laws have created a climate of fear and hostility for LGBTQIA+ people in Florida,” organizers wrote. “We believe that holding an LGBTQIA+ event in this environment would put our community at risk.”

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And Port St. Lucie, located about 50 miles north of Palm Beach, canceled a Pride parade in April and restricted other event access to people 21 years and older in anticipation of DeSantis signing legislation blocking children from seeing an “adult live performances.”

LGBTQ advocates have warned that the provision could have a chilling effect on drag shows.

But many major cities in Florida aren’t canceling or restricting their events during Pride Month, which is marked during June. Tens of thousands of people are expected to go to central Florida to mark Gay Days, a decades-long tradition, in the Orlando area.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeSantis anti-LGBTQ laws prompt Florida cities to cancel Pride events