a florida city canceled pride under its new dei law. it canceled st. patrick's day too. the irish are dei now, apparently.
Photo: downtown Delray Beach, Florida, for illustration. Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Florida law was sold as a way to get cities out of the diversity business. In Delray Beach, it turns out the diversity business includes green beer.
The city announced Tuesday that it will not host its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade or its Pride event in 2027. The reason is Senate Bill 1134, which takes effect Jan. 1. It bars municipalities from funding or promoting, "directly or indirectly," anything that falls under its definition of diversity, equity and inclusion, which covers programming designed with reference to race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation, WPTV reported. City officials said they reviewed it and concluded it legally stops them from organizing, funding or promoting either event.
Pride, you could see coming. St. Patrick's Day is a celebration of Irish heritage, and Irish is an ethnicity. The law reads the way it reads.
what the law actually allows
It is not a ban on parades. According to WPTV, SB 1134 lets cities keep recognizing federal and state holidays and observances, and it lets them issue event permits on a content-neutral basis and provide police and other safety services. So a private group can still get a permit and march. What the city can no longer do is put on the event, pay for it or promote it. The law also lets any resident sue a city in circuit court for breaking it, which goes a long way toward explaining why a city attorney would rather cancel a parade than test it.
"The City recognizes that these annual events have provided opportunities for members of the community to gather, celebrate, and connect," Delray Beach said in a Facebook post. "We remain committed to serving all residents and providing opportunities for community engagement consistent with applicable state and federal laws."
somebody did warn us
Back in March, PinkNews ran a headline that read, at the time, like a stretch: "St Patrick's Day could be cancelled under 'extremist' Florida Pride ban". Eight months later, a Palm Beach County city has done exactly that, to both of them at once. When a law is written broadly enough to catch the gays, it rarely stops at the gays.
