Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called the removal a “cruel political act.”
By ProSisters –
Florida’s governor continued his war against rainbows Thursday, August 21, in Orlando. Plans are already underway to take the war to the streets of St Petersburg.
All Florida cities have been ordered to remove rainbow crosswalks and other “non-standard surface markings” associated with social or political messages. Around the state, city governments and activists have been battling against the order.
Under cover of night Florida’s Department of Transportation (DOT) painted over the rainbow crosswalk leading to Orlando’s Pulse Memorial August 21, following a directive from the former Trump administration’s transportation secretary to “standardize road markings and remove distractions.”
Despite claims that this directive was made in the interest of public safety. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis revealed the truth on X and other social media with a short and sweet comment: “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.” This is despite the fact that the Orlando crosswalk was actually installed by the state in 2017.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer criticized the removal of the crosswalk on social media, calling it a “cruel political act.” The memorial honored the 49 people fatally shot by a gunman at the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub in 2016, in what was the largest mass shooting in the country at the time.
Dyer said, “We are devastated to learn that overnight the state painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue,” he wrote. “This crosswalk not only enhanced safety and visibility for the large number of pedestrians visiting the memorial, it also served as a visual reminder of Orlando’s commitment to honor the 49 lives taken.”
On August 22, volunteers restored the colorful crosswalk with sidewalk chalk.
St. Petersburg’s rainbow crosswalk at Central Avenue and 25th Street was also ordered to be removed by the state. A request by the city for an exemption was denied. The reason given was that the artwork did not meet the state’s standards for traffic control devices and instead carried social, political, or ideological messages. The state expects St Petersburg to comply with the order by September 3 while St. Petersburg’s mayor stated they would allow state crews to remove it.
