MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A new bill that passed in the Florida Senate Wednesday is raising concerns in Wilton Manors and other cities that could be banned from showing support to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities.
Republican proponents of Florida HB 1001 and the related SB 1134 are pushing for a state-wide ban on local governments’ spending on anything associated with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI, a policy of inclusion for marginalized groups.
SB 1134 passed in the Senate Wednesday, with 25 in support and 11 against it.
Florida Rep. Dean Black, who co-introduced HB 1001, said the DEI “philosophy” has been used to ”divide our society." Florida Sen. Clay Yarborough, who introduced SB 1134, said the bill “prohibits counties and municipalities from funding, promoting, or taking official actions related to DEI.”
Florida Sen. Jason W. B. Pizzo, who is based in Broward County and has no party affiliation, told Yarborough he opposed the bill because it would affect Stonewall Pride Wilton Manors, an annual parade and festival.
“Surely a U.S. National Monument, a U.S. National historic landmark, and a U.S. registrar of historic places should allow for anywhere in the nation, especially in the state of Florida, in the great city of Wilton Manors to celebrate,” Pizzo said.
Wilton Manors supports the annual event, which commemorates the LGBTQ+ rights movement that was born after the riots of June 28, 1969, during a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village, now a historic national landmark.
“Let me research that because that’s the first time I am hearing about that one,” Yarborough told Pizzo.
The bill does have exceptions for federal holidays, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Florida Sen. Tina Polsky, a Democrat based in Boca Raton, stands against the bill. She said it lacks clarity.
“We have heard from city attorneys who say, ‘I don’t know how to advise my client’ because it is so vague,” Polsky said.
Chris Caputo, the vice mayor of Wilton Manors, said that if state lawmakers passed the related bills and Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the bill into law, even the use of PRIDE month rainbows on city property could be banned.
“That can be deemed as promoting something that is DEI related,” Caputo said.
Stonewall Pride I, a non-profit organization, organizes Stonewall Pride Wilton Manors, which includes more than 50,000 locals and visitors.
“We can no longer promote these events that are core to our community,” Caputo said. “I’ve talked to Stonewall ... without city support ... they can’t put on the event.”
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