Tampa Parade May Be A Bit More Subdued But Won't Be Lacking Pride

TAMPA, FL — While the Tampa Pride Committee was busy planning for the city's annual Pride Diversity Parade and Tampa Pride Street Festival on Saturday in Ybor City, the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature was meeting in committees to consider another batch of bills that the LGBTQ+ community said are designed to violate their civil rights and force them back into the closet.

Members of Tampa's LGBTQ+ community legislative decisions made last year and those being considered this year has cast a pall over the festivities that seemed so promising in 2019 when then-Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn boldly marched down 7th Avenue wearing a rainbow mayor's sash alongside the LGBTQ+ parade participants and the estimated 50,000 people who attended the parade.

That parade signaled a change of attitude in the mainstream community. The city displayed a never-before-experienced acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community exemplified by the rainbow-colored Pride flags unfurled in front of city and county buildings and business owners decorating their windows with Pride messages and rainbow bunting.

But the gay community said the collective call to celebrate diversity was short-lived. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was elected that same year and, two years later, LGBTQ residents in Florida said they saw a rapid erosion of their rights.

It began with the contentious Parental Rights in Education bill, facetiously nicknamed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by its detractors. Signed into law by DeSantis a year ago, the legislation says classroom instruction in public schools on "sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade three or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students."

This week, DeSantis proposed expanding the Parental Rights in Education bill to all grades, kindergarten through 12th, unless it's part of a reproductive health curriculum that the student has opted to take. DeSantis' proposal doesn't require legislative approval. It can be approved by a vote of the Florida Board of Education, which is scheduled to take place next month.

Nevertheless, a bill is under consideration by the state Legislature in the 2023 legislative sessin that would prohibit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in preschool through eighth grade, including children attending Florida charter charter schools.

The LGBTQ+ community was also dismayed in June when DeSantis supported legislation charging parents who take their children to drag shows with breaking the law and terminating their parental rights.

DeSantis also targeted the restaurants, bars and other venues that host the drag shows. In June, he accused a Miami LGBTQ+ venue of breaking the law by hosting drag brunch events with children in attendance.

He followed up in February by stripping the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation of its liquor license for allowing children to attend a Christmas drag show. This month, DeSantis took similar action to suspend the liquor license of the Hyatt Regency Miami for allowing children under 18 to attend a Christmas drag show.

Another law signed by DeSantis in March 2022 is also coming back to haunt the LGBTQ community.

House Bill 1467 gave the parents of Florida public elementary school students the right to request that a book be banned from the school library or a textbook be banned from the classroom.

A Hillsborough County parent submitted a challenge to a book titled, "This Book is Gay," requesting that it be removed from the shelves of the Pierce Middle School media center.

The bestselling young adult nonfiction book by Juno Dawson is described by Sourcebooks as a "candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBTQ."

After twice denying the parent's request, the Hillsborough County School Board will hold a special called school board meeting on Tuesday at 10 a.m. to discuss the book challenge.

Also this week, four families have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and state health officials challenging Florida's prohibition against providing children under the age of 18 with puberty-blocking hormones, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries.

The lawsuit is in response to two Florida medical boards giving final approval to ban gender-affirming care for minors in Florida in November.

The parents' lawsuit claims the ban violates the equal protection clause in the Constitution by singling out transgender minors and preventing them from obtaining medically necessary care for gender dysphoria.

It's under this cloud of what the LGBTQ+ community considers attacks on their gender identities and violations of their civil rights that the Tampa Pride Festival will take place Saturday.

Nevertheless, in comments posted on the City of Tampa Facebook page, the LGBTQ+ community and its advocates said they're determined to celebrate unity and diversity regardless of what's happening in Tallahassee.

Among them is Tampa Mayor Jane Castor who plans to be front and center at the festivities. Elected in 2019 and re-elected earlier this month, Castor is Tampa's first openly gay mayor.

"Here in Tampa, we always celebrate our diversity," she said. "How boring would life be if we were all the same? Love is love and it deserves to be celebrated."

"Knowing how far Tampa has come for the LGBTQ + community is extremely rewarding," posted Jim Millwater. "Just think, not too long ago Tampa was somewhat hostile toward inclusion. Now our mayor is part of the LGBTQ + community. Way to go, Tampa."

Although the LGBTQ+ community has come a long way since the 1969 Stonewall Riots when police raided a gay bar in Greenwich Village in New York City, launching the gay rights movement, MaryJo "MJ" Jones said the actions of the past year demonstrate it has a long way to go.

"Despite the enormous progress that this ongoing rights movement has made, the LGBTQ+ community faces many challenges and opposition," she posted. "Homophobic hate groups have targeted businesses, individuals and Pride celebrations for years, and many attacks have resulted in casualties. Many of the rights that this minority group deserves are not protected by federal law, making lives for gay citizens more difficult than for straight citizens."

While some people posted derogatory comments including, "Well, I guess my kids will not be going to Ybor this weekend. Thanks for the heads up."

And others called the festival a "waste of taxpayer money."

Not so, says Visit Tampa Bay, the city's tourism bureau.

Visit Tampa Bay said March is the busiest festival month in Tampa with at least five major festivals traditionally held during the month including the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, the Gasparilla International Film Festival, the River O' Green St. Patrick's Day festival and the Tampa Pride Festival. Cumulatively, these festivals have an economic impact of $144 million.

What To Know About The Tampa Pride Festival

The Tampa Pride Street Festival will kick off at 10:45 a.m. with a performance by the Tampa Bay Pride Band on the main stage in the courtyard of The Cuban Club, 2010 N. Avenida Republica de Cuba, followed by guest speakers and other entertainment. It will continue until 4:15 p.m. with an arts and crafts show, a community health fair and an entrepreneurs' fair in the parking lot of the Ybor City campus of Hillsborough Community College and along East 9th Avenue from North 13th Street to North 15th Street.

The Tampa Pride Festival will also include Food Alley, featuring a variety of food trucks, on 14tth Street between 9th Avenue and Palm Avenue between the Cuban Club and HCC from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The annual Tampa Pride Diversity Parade will begin at 4 p.m. at Nuccio Parkway and East 7th Avenue and head east down East 7th Avenue to North 20th Street.

The festivities will continue with Pride@Night, an adults-only celebration at The Cuban Club from 6 to 10 p.m. Hosted by Brianna Summers, Cupcakke will be the headline entertainer. There will also be performances by New York City's Dougie Nielsen and other talent. Miss Tampa Pride Hazel Genevieve will be on hand and the contest to name her successor will be hosted by designer Andrew Christian. Click here for VIP tickets.

The PTL Nightclub, 1507 E. 7th Ave., will have a party as well from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Click here for tickets.

Road Closures

To accommodate the festivities, the city will close the following roads:

• East 9th Avenue between North 13th Street and North 15th Street from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• East 9th Avenue between North 13th Street and North 14th Street from 9 a.m. to midnight.
• Nuccio Parkway between North Nebraska Avenue and East Palm Avenue from noon to 9 p.m.
• East 7th Avenue between North Nebraska Avenue and North 21st Street from noon to 9 p.m.
• East 8th Avenue between North 15th Street and North 17th Street from noon to 9 p.m.
• East Palm Avenue (eastbound only) from North 15th Street to North 21st Street from noon to 9 p.m.