FL City Cancels St. Patrick's Day Parade, Pride Event Under State DEI Law

DELRAY BEACH, FL — The city of Delray Beach shared in a social media post on Tuesday that it won’t host its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade or Pride event next year, with city officials citing a new Florida law restricting local governments' involvement in certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities.

The city’s decision followed a review of Senate Bill 1134, which takes effect Jan. 1, and restricts municipalities from funding, promoting, or taking official action related to activities that fall under the legislation's definition of DEI.

“These restrictions include certain programming and activities designed or implemented with reference to ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity,” officials said in the post.

City leaders determined the new restrictions legally prohibit Delray Beach from organizing, funding or promoting the two annual celebrations, according to the post.

However, the events could still happen through private sponsorship, and Mayor Tom Carney says he is already exploring ways to keep at least the St. Patrick's Day Parade on the calendar after residents expressed their disappointment.

“I had a good 50 emails in my box saying, 'What are you doing?'" Carney told WPTV, adding, "I decided, well, let's just make it a private event again, so I reached out to a half dozen people. More than that reached out to me saying, 'We'll help underwrite the parade,' and we've already got people submitting applications to try and do the parade for us.”

The mayor noted that the parade was previously organized as a private event, and his family even helped to underwrite it in the past, the report said.

Carney hopes that a similar private-sector arrangement could be considered for the Pride Festival, although discussions about both events remain in the early stages.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade, dating back to 1968, and the annual Pride Festival have drawn thousands of people to downtown Delray Beach over the years.

"The City recognizes that these annual events have provided opportunities for members of the community to gather, celebrate, and connect," officials wrote in the post. “We appreciate the residents, participants, volunteers and community partners who have contributed to these events over the years.”

The owner of Tim Finnegan’s Irish Pub, Lisa Walsh, told CBS 12 that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is not only a local tradition, it’s also a big day for business.

“I would love to see the parade keep going,” she said.

Johnny Henegar, a patron of the bar, told the news outlet, “I really don’t understand why they would put this in a DEI type of thing.”