After the Florida Department of Transportation rejected a request from Sarasota to light the John Ringling Causeway Bridge with rainbow colors in solidarity with Pride Month, Sarasota’s LGBTQ+ community decided to light it themselves.
A group of more than 50 LGBTQ supporters marched the bridge Saturday evening with rainbow colors to show support for the community. The rally coincided with the 5th anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre that left 49 people dead.
Members of the march said the rally was so much more than just lighting the bridge. It’s about human rights.
Pulse anniversary:Five years later, grief remains for friends of Pulse shooting victim from Sarasota
Bridge lighting:Florida’s own bridgegate highlights gay rights struggle, angers Sarasota LGBTQ community
“I feel like it’s kind of a slap in the face to the LGBTQ community,” said Steven Philips, who heard about the rally from an email blast on SarasotaOut.com, a website that promotes LGBTQ events and businesses. “It’s saying, ‘You’re not important enough for us to recognize.’ The rainbow colors is just a symbol, but it’s a powerful symbol for the gay community around the world.”
The state’s decision to reject a plan by Sarasota to light the bridge in rainbow came the same week Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning transgender girls from playing girls sports. On June 2, DeSantis’ veto list included getting rid of funding that would go towards counseling for survivors of the Pulse massacre.
“This is the most hateful, anti-LGBTQ bill,” said Shannon Fortner executive director and founder of the Harvey Milk Festival. “We’ve had funds taken away from Pulse survivors, access for LGBTQ organizations that were providing mental health and housing took away; a lot of really important funding that was being used for the community that was really important, and he (DeSantis) took that away.”
“It’s obvious it was done strategically as an insult to our community.”
The march went from Marina Plaza to the opposite end of the bridge just before St. Armands Circle. The group waved their flags, held signs and shouted towards drivers passing by. Some drivers honked their horns in solidarity with the group, and an occasional passenger stuck their head out of the window to chant with the protestors.
Background:State denies Sarasota plan to light Ringling Causeway in rainbow for Pride Month
Pride:City of Sarasota issues proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month for the first time in history
The protest turned emotional as they reached the end of the bridge, when lead organizer, Traci Lipton, stopped to read the 49 names of those who lost their lives that day five years ago at Pulse. After she read each name, the group shouted the words “never again.”
Lipton said she created the event to show the community love and support because the State of Florida hasn’t.
“I wanted people to be in a community with people where they could feel the love and feel the support,” said Lipton. “To be able to be around people that they know care about them, that was my entire goal.”
Other organizers of the event included the Party for Socialism and Liberation – Florida, the Leaders Rights Organization and Vegang.
