A slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills is moving through the state Legislature, including bans on preferred pronouns in schools and gender-affirming care as well as restrictions on drag performances that could make public events like Pride illegal. Plus, DeSantis' administration is looking to expand the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by critics, which wouldn't require legislative approval. Tampa Pride president Carrie West told Axios that organizers fear this year's event may be the last legal Pride parade for a while as "What's going on in the Florida legislature is disturbing.”
However, despite the anti-LGBTQ+ political environment, Ybor City was filled with sunshine and rainbows recently as thousands of people gathered for the Tampa Pride Diversity Festival and Parade. Tampa Pride leaders have always considered the celebration family-friendly, ignoring the false rhetoric spread by GOP legislators. This year, the parade featured younger generations of LBGTQIA+ activists speaking their truths about struggles within the current political climate.
But, this fear in the minds of organizers and the LGBTQ+ community of Tampa does not come out of the blue. Tampa Pride has been forced to shut down before. In 2005, former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms led the commission in banning all Pride events. It took eight years for that ban to be repealed, and the city hosted its first parade in 2015, with now-mayor Jane Castor as grand Marshall.
Tampa Pride Leaders Are Worried About Parade & Festival Future With Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
- Mark Gilbert
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