Rainbow Crosswalk – Photo: Lucas van Oort via Unsplash
About 100 Orlando residents used chalk on Thursday to restore a rainbow crosswalk honoring victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre, after the Florida Department of Transportation paved it over in the middle of the night.
Installed in 2017, the rainbow Pride crosswalk commemorates the 49 people killed in the Pulse mass shooting. It is also a featured element of the planned permanent Pulse memorial, which recently received $400,000 in state funding, according to Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG.
However, the crosswalk along Orange Avenue, near the former nightclub, was targeted for removal by state officials after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to governors demanding that rainbow crosswalks and other street art be removed. He argued they could “distract” drivers and lead to more crashes.
Duffy’s fatwa against rainbow crosswalks aligns with the Trump administration’s push to roll back what it terms “woke” ideology. It also echoes complaints from social conservatives who have long opposed public displays or symbols representing the LGBTQ community, arguing that LGBTQ identity should not be acknowledged or celebrated in public spaces.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed Duffy’s directive, warning cities that if they didn’t remove rainbow crosswalks or street art, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) would do it for them.
“We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes,” the governor wrote on X.
Following DeSantis’ directive, FDOT crews painted over the crosswalk in the early hours of August 21 — without notifying local officials, who blasted the move.
“In the middle of the night, FDOT painted over our rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse Memorial. A place where 49 mostly LGBTQ+ people were murdered. A tragedy that we have worked so hard to find power in pain. A rainbow crosswalk that sparked joy and showed our love for all people,” State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) wrote in a thread on X.
“It was never a political statement, and caring about people of all backgrounds is not meant to be a political statement. And, more visible crosswalks help to increase visibility and safety too,” Eskamani continued. “But what is political, what is authoritative, and what is disrespectful to the 49 lives murdered and our entire community, is sneaking into the city in the middle of the night to literally erase a rainbow crosswalk that was originally established with FDOT approval!”
Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan accused FDOT of making a “political statement” targeting the LGBTQ community, calling the paving over of the rainbow crosswalk “a slap in the face.”
“If they are so proud of it, why did they do it in the middle of the night?” Sheehan asked.
“The cowards threatened by our lives should feel lucky they didn’t have to bury the ones they love — then watch the state come & bury their memory,” Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolf wrote on X.
In a statement to WKMG, FDOT said it has a duty to “ensure the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems,” which includes “ensuring our roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests.”
Throughout the day, volunteers used chalk to temporarily recreate the rainbow stripes in the crosswalk in protest of its removal. Local resident Dallas Perdue was among them.
“I was just fixing what shouldn’t have been…painted over in the first place,” Perdue told Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV.
State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), the first openly gay Latino elected to the Florida Legislature in 2016, condemned the state’s actions and praised residents who helped recolor the crosswalk.
He told Newsweek, “We turned out, painted the neighborhood with even more rainbows, and reminded everyone that love always wins.”
Precinct DTLA, one of L.A.’s most prominent queer bars, says it’s in danger of closing due to slow business and a lawsuit from a former employee.
In an Instagram post, Precinct DTLA warned it is "in crisis."
"We're a couple of slow weekends away from having to close our doors," the statement read. "Like many small businesses, we've taken hit after hit -- from COVID shutdowns and ICE raids to citywide curfews and the ongoing decline of nightlife. But what we're facing now is even more devastating."
Bisexual rapper Azealia Banks sparked backlash after posting on X that being gay or transgender is "not natural," calling both "a trauma response."
Banks made the comment in response to an X user who had replied to a since-deleted post.
"This post is giving assault victim coping mechanism rationalizing their abuse. Get help!" the user wrote, sharing an image of a tissue box reading, "It's okay to go to therapy!"
"Well, being gay and transgender is not actually a natural thing," Banks replied. "At all, it’s a trauma response. Science lied to you all and told you you were normal, but being homosexual -- and on the more extreme end, transgender -- is in fact a trauma response. No one is born gay, and no one is born in the wrong body. You guys have mental disorders that science is doing you a major disservice by not medicating. Bet you didn’t know that."
Judi Fike, a Republican councilwoman in Groveland, Florida, has been reinstated to her seat after fellow council members suspended her over offensive social media posts targeting Black and LGBTQ communities. Fike, who was appointed in October 2024 to represent the city’s District 4, has filed a lawsuit challenging the suspension.
Fike’s attorney, Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini -- a two-time congressional candidate with a history of pushing anti-LGBTQ legislation -- told the Orlando Sentinel that Fike was reinstated following a preliminary hearing on July 16.
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