Ron DeSantis' 'Freedom Summer' Nixes Rainbow Bridge Lights for Florida Pride Month
As part of Florida's new "Freedom Summer" initiative, Gov. Ron DeSantis has decreed that all bridges in the state can only be lit up at night in red, white, and blue.
May 22 2024, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
With Florida's new "Freedom Summer" initiative, Gov. Ron DeSantis has decreed that all bridges in the state can only be lit up at night in red, white, and blue from May 27 to September 2, RadarOnline.com has learned.
"As Floridians prepare for Freedom Summer, Florida's bridges will follow suit, illuminating in red, white, and blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day!" Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue wrote on X. "Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida continues to be the freest state in the nation."
Bridges across the state often display different colors to recognize different holidays or events — like Pride Month in June, which in past years has seen the iconic Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge illuminated in rainbow colors.
Some are viewing this new initiative as a direct attack on Florida's LGBTQ community. "The bridge lights were about celebrating diversity and inclusion, which will continue to happen in our communities," Carlos Guillermo Smith, Equality Florida’s senior policy adviser, told The Washington Post in a statement.
"LGBTQ Floridians will proudly raise our flags even higher and our lights will only shine brighter in the darkness they’ve created."
In addition to the rainbow for Pride Month, the Ringling Causeway Bridge over Sarasota Bay usually lights up in orange for National Gun Violence Awareness Month, also in June, and yellow for Women's Equality Day on August 26.
"It's very popular," Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert said of the bridge lights. "But the state has control of the bridge, so we don’t control the lights. People are disappointed."
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Similarly, Jacksonville's Acosta Bridge uses its "dynamic LED lighting system" to display red, black, and green colors for Juneteenth and pink, blue, and red to celebrate the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp minor league baseball team.
"Whichever bridge you’re on, you can see those colors, shining bright from that bridge. And it really is a beautiful sight,” said Kimberly Allen, CEO of the local 904Ward advocacy group promoting diversity and inclusion. "When we acknowledge things like Juneteenth, or our local sports team, that’s part of what adds to the vibrancy of the city.”
"I think the undertones of this are what’s haunting," she added of DeSantis' "Freedom Summer" initiative. "Why at this moment, in this month, why is that happening now?"
DeSantis initially announced the "Freedom Summer" campaign in April as a Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday.
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DeSantis announced the "Freedom Summer" campaign in April as a Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday to make fishing supplies and outdoor recreation equipment sales tax-free in July and let families visit Florida state parks for free on Memorial Day Weekend.
According to The Post, Perdue issued the statewide order limiting bridge lights to red, white, and blue after Manatee County Commissioner Mike Rahn, whose county borders part of Tampa Bay, objected to the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge's rainbow lights.
Rah declined to comment, only telling the outlet that "the Governor and the Secretary of Transportation have made the decision that all bridges in Florida will be lighted Red, White and Blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day."
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