Tampa Pride Event Cancelled After DeSantis Signs Anti-Drag Bill

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Pride will not hold its Pride On The River event this year after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a flurry of anti-LGBTQ+ bills Wednesday, including one that prohibits children from attending drag shows, according to multiple reports.

Tampa Pride President Carrie West confirmed the event's cancellation to WFLA and WFTS Tampa Bay.

In a phone interview with WFTS, West said the group canceled the event because members "didn't feel comfortable having a public celebration on the waterfront given the current climate."

Patch has reached out to West for additional comment.

During the Wednesday ceremony at the evangelical Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, DeSantis signed laws that banned gender-affirming care for minors, targeted drag shows, restricted discussion of personal pronouns in schools, and forced people to use certain bathrooms.

DeSantis has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his agenda as he prepares to seek the Republican presidential nomination. He signed the bills in front of a cheering crowd, and the ceremony had a campaign-like feel, with DeSantis tossing Sharpies to the crowd.

"It's kind of sad that we even have some of these discussions," DeSantis told the crowd, standing behind a podium with a sign reading "Let Kids Be Kids."

• RELATED: New FL Laws Target Drag Shows, Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Kids

Among the bills signed by DeSantis was SB 1438 — also called Protection of Children — which bans children from attending "sexually explicit adult performances in all venues — including drag shows and strip clubs," according to the news release. Hotels and restaurants that allow children to attend adult performances risk being fined or having their licenses suspended.

DeSantis also signed SB 254, which outlaws gender-affirming surgery and puberty blockers for minors. It also grants Florida courts temporary emergency jurisdiction to intervene and halt procedures for out-of-state children, according to the governor's news release.

Another bill signed by the governor was HB 1069, which expands the existing "Parental Rights in Education" law, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by critics. The law initially limited classroom conversations on sexual orientation and gender for students in grades K-3 when it was passed last year. The expansion of this law now prohibits these topics for grades 4-12 as well.

With the law's expansion, students and teachers are no longer allowed to declare their preferred pronouns at school or be forced to use pronouns for others that aren't based on biological sex.

"We never did this through all of human history until, like, what, two weeks ago? Now this is something? They're having third-graders declare pronouns? We're not doing the pronoun Olympics in Florida," DeSantis said at the bill signing.

The gender-affirming care ban and the law targeting drag shows go into effect immediately. The bathroom restrictions and the law banning schools from forcing children to "provide his or her preferred personal title or pronouns" take effect July 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.