PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A contentious issue made even more divisive as Governor Ron DeSantis passed several pieces of legislation Wednesday that he said are meant to protect children. Still, many in the LGBTQ+ community said it was a direct attack.
"We need to let our kids be kids. We and we have a very crazy age that we live in. There's a lot of nonsense that gets floated around," said Gov. DeSantis.
The new laws do the following
- Ban on gender-affirming care.
- Eliminates the use of pronouns in schools.
- Prevents kids from seeing drag shows.
- Requires children to use restrooms aligned with the gender given at birth.
"What we've said in Florida is we are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that," said Gov. DeSantis.
While some think this is a move in the right direction, others are concerned about a trend of recent legislation out of Tallahassee. Critics say these new laws target attacks against the LGBTQ+ community and that representation for children is essential. "For us – as a pride organization – making sure that queer children are still seeing representation of themselves, being able to see adults, for those children to grow into adults. We want queer and trans children to be able to grow into fully functional adults in ways that make sense for them," said Byron Green-Calisch with St. Pete Pride.
How these new laws could impact local Pride events.
Tampa's Pride on the River event takes place every year in September along the river walk, but not this year. "We have vendors, sponsors have a booth, and then they also have foam parties and bubble machines and everything for the kids," said Carrie West with Tampa Pride. West said they had to cancel this year's event because of restrictions on drag shows around children. "The climate is so political, and it's changing so rapidly," said West.
Meanwhile, across the bay in Pinellas Park, organizers of this weekend's Pride at the Village event are scrambling to ensure their event is in line with the new law. They're trying to make sure drag shows aren't visible to the general public. "So, our stage is going to be under a 30x30 tent, which is blocked from the main road, but now, in addition, we're going to have to add temporary walls all around the perimeter so that we can accommodate an audience, but still keep it out of sight from anybody outside of that tent," said John Gascot with Pride at the Village
St. Pete Pride announced Thursday via Facebook that all their Pride events in June will go as planned.
