by Barrington Salmon, Florida Phoenix
September 6, 2025

“Insecurity is the mother of intolerance” — unknown

One has to wonder what drives people like Ron DeSantis and so-called conservatives who take every opportunity to disparage Florida’s diverse and vibrant LGBTQ community.

Why are they so insecure? What are they so afraid of?

Since he came into office, the governor has shown disdain to this maligned community, used disparaging language and, most of all, misused his political muscle in attempts to scare and bully.

Everything DeSantis does is contaminated by ideology. His actions are aimed at rendering invisible gays, queer, and trans people, plus Black and Brown people and other marginalized groups. That’s never gonna happen, but that’s not stopping him and his allies from doing everything they can to make people’s lives miserable.

Last month, DeSantis and various parts of his state apparatus, in concert with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, continued their harassment when the Florida Department of Transportation sent letters to at least 14 Florida cities, demanding that they remove rainbow and other painted crosswalks or lose millions in state and federal funding.

The issue has been simmering since a July 1 directive from Duffy, who gave U.S. governors 60 days to identify “safety improvements.”

“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” Duffy said in a statement at the time. He later elaborated: “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks. Political banners have no place on public roads. I’m reminding recipients of @USDOT roadway funding that it’s limited to features advancing safety, and nothing else. It’s that simple.”

A spokesperson for the Florida DOT told NBC News via email that the department has a duty to “ensure the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems” and therefore ensure “roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests.”

‘Political purposes’

DeSantis echoed Duffy.

“We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes,” he said on X.

One of the most egregious consequences to come out of DeSantis’ action was the recent dead-of-night painting over of the rainbow sidewalk by Florida transportation workers at a memorial set up at what used to be the Pulse nightclub. The memorial honors the 49 people fatally shot there in 2016 in what was the largest mass shooting in the country at the time.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer castigated the action on social media.

“We are devastated to learn that overnight the state painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue,” Dyer wrote. “This crosswalk not only enhanced safety and visibility for the large number of pedestrians visiting the memorial, it also served as a visual reminder of Orlando’s commitment to honor the 49 lives taken.”

Dyer asserted that the crosswalk, installed by the state in 2017, adheres to safety standards. Brandon Wolf, one of the Pulse shooting’s survivors, described the removal as a desecration of the deceased victims’ memories.

“In the dark of night, they came to erase our show of solidarity, our declaration that we will never forget,” he wrote on X. “The cowards who feel threatened by our lives should feel lucky they didn’t have to bury the ones they love — then watch the state come & desecrate their memory.”

One weird justification transportation officials offered is that the rainbow artwork on Ocean Drive and 12th Street in Miami Beach poses a risk for drivers and pedestrians.

Statistics reflect otherwise.

According to crash data, the intersection at 12th and Ocean has had just 15 accidents since the artwork was installed in 2018 — fewer than neighboring intersections at 10th Street (37 crashes) and 13th Street (23 crashes).

Erasure

The Rev. Susan Gage, an Episcopal priest who ministers to a number of LGPTQ people and members, told me she is troubled but unsurprised by the DeSantis administration’s attempts as erasure.

“I found out about it probably the same way everybody else did. People in Orlando woke up and found out the crosswalk at Pulse was removed overnight,” she said. “Here in Tallahassee, some kids painted crosswalks that were colorful with stars, music, stuff that made it look pretty. Some of that was all done with private money including the Knight Foundation as a part of a private-public partnership with the city.”

That’s gone now, too.

Gage, like other critics, sees what DeSantis is doing as narrow-mindedness bathed in petty grievance and the desire to punish.

“I wonder, is this really the best use of public money?” she asked. “Like the tearing up of Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C., this shows that they are going to try to erase: Blacks, queers, everything that isn’t the standard of the white male. It was all cool until Ron DeSantis said it wasn’t.”

The Rev. Terrence Taylor, who has led the Church of the Transfiguration in Miami Gardens for 15 years, said he’s at a loss to explain the DeSantis foolishness.

“It’s upsetting,” he said. “Why, with all the priorities you say you have, are you’re doing this? He’s playing to the base and there’s an appetite for it, playing to people’s fears, resurrecting things I thought was settled. Why are we on this now? What is your point other than to harass people? Why would you do this.? It has to feed a base or something. It doesn’t feed me but it feeds someone.”

‘Deeply offensive’

Those most affected aren’t taking this lying down. There have been protests across South Florida and in Orlando, where demonstrators replaced the rainbow colors in chalk while DeSantis sent minions to repaint the space and posted state troopers. Taxpayers’ money at work!

The anger is widespread and palpable.

State Sen. Shevrin Jones wrote an op-ed describing DeSantis’s actions at the Pulse nightclub as “a deeply offensive decision.”

“DeSantis’ erasure of the memorial is not merely a disregard for a physical space, but a profound desecration of sacred ground and a grievous affront to the memory of the 49 lives lost and the countless others impacted by the horrific mass shooting targeting the LGBTQ community,” he wrote.

“Erasing the rainbow crosswalk was not a neutral act of urban planning, but a calculated move that disregards the sanctity of a site forever marked by unimaginable pain and loss.”

Jones argues this serves “as chilling reminders of the ongoing struggle against those who seek to deny history and diminish the suffering of marginalized communities. It signals a deeply troubling lack of respect for the victims and survivors, as well as for the broader LGBTQ community and its allies who have found solace and strength in this sacred space.”

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis concurred.

“It’s an attempt to try to erase the presence of anything to do with the LGBTQ community,” Trantalis said. “… It could be the gay community this year — who knows what’s going to be next year. We don’t know where they are going to keep trying to eliminate the diversity of what represents Florida.”

Gage, Trantalis, and Taylor said state politicians should be concentrating on Florida’s many more pressing priorities.

“Honestly, I wish the state would focus more on affordable insurance, homelessness, and finding affordable housing,” said Trantalis.

Orange County Democratic state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith complained the city of Orlando never had an opportunity to appeal.

“The DeSantis administration is resorting to deliberate lies to justify their indefensible, state-sponsored vandalism at the Pulse nightclub site, done without notice or consent from the City of Orlando,” Smith said. “This crosswalk was not only a tribute to those murdered in 2016, it was also an FDOT-approved installation designed to enhance pedestrian safety for the countless people who come here to pay their respects year after year.”

DeSantis didn’t enforce a rule or new law, Smith asserted.

“He invented an excuse to punish LGBTQ visibility and draw attention to himself. Nothing in Florida law requires the state to act with such callousness and cruelty. Even the first FDOT’s memo stated that they used their discretion to grant exceptions. The state cannot revoke the legal rights of municipalities to administrative appeal and review. That’s why cities and residents are fighting back,” he added.

Smith said cities “are exploring legal options against the State, and Floridians are responding back with new murals and art installations that are bigger, queerer, and more colorful than Ron ever imagined. They are sending a clear message: we will not be erased, and love always wins.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

The post Spiteful DeSantis forces erasure of rainbow sidewalks appeared first on floridaphoenix.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning

This content exhibits a left-leaning bias as it strongly criticizes Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration’s actions regarding LGBTQ visibility and rights. The language used is emotive and frames DeSantis’s policies as discriminatory and harmful to marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ individuals and people of color. The article highlights opposition voices and portrays the state’s actions as punitive and ideologically motivated, aligning with progressive perspectives that emphasize social justice and inclusion.