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16m ago

Florida Paints Over Pulse Memorial Rainbow Crosswalk as Crackdown Widens

The move follows a federal directive on “political” pavement art, signaling a Florida campaign to force removals statewide.

Rainbow crosswalk outside former Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that was painted over by Florida transportation workers
Image
Florida locals reinstate rainbow crosswalk, in screenshots from a video shared to X by @jeremy_rodrigue.
Joey Lachimia and Richard Arsenault, of Fort Lauderdale, take pictures in front of the first rainbow crosswalk in Broward County, on Sebastian Street in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. The crosswalk is a temporary sticker unveiled before the Pride Fort Lauderdale festival Saturday and Sunday on the beach. The permanent crosswalk will be painted at a later date.

Overview

  • State crews repainted the Pulse memorial crosswalk overnight in Orlando, a step Mayor Buddy Dyer called a cruel political act that erased part of the 2017 tribute to the 49 victims and reduced a feature he says improved pedestrian visibility.
  • Residents and elected officials repeatedly recolored the crossing with chalk and paint after the removal, though the restorations were quickly erased or washed away.
  • Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the action by saying state roads will not be used for political purposes, echoing a July 1 directive from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that explicitly targeted rainbow crosswalks for removal.
  • Florida ordered Fort Lauderdale to strip a Progress Pride street marking and three other painted intersections, warning the state will remove them, bill the city, and potentially withhold funds if it does not comply by early September.
  • Similar enforcement letters and orders have gone to cities including Delray Beach, Key West, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, drawing condemnation from LGBTQ+ advocates and local officials and prompting discussions of legal and political responses.