{"id":410186,"date":"2026-09-25T10:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T10:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/410186\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T10:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T10:14:10","slug":"new-florida-law-may-end-miami-beachs-official-pride-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/410186\/","title":{"rendered":"New Florida law may end Miami Beach\u2019s official Pride role"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Miami Beach\u2019s Pride parade will go on in 2027, but Florida\u2019s looming anti-DEI law is forcing the city to cut off funding for the event starting on Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

SAM NAVARRO<\/p>\n

Special for the Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Last spring, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner waved from a city fire truck at the front of the annual gay Pride parade down Ocean Drive. Now, organizers aren\u2019t sure whether the mayor can come back next year without violating Florida\u2019s new anti-DEI law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the absurdity of this law,\u201d said Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who joined Meiner for the city-funded Pride parade on April 12. \u201cI don\u2019t even know whether attending Pride as a commissioner could put me at risk of being removed from office.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Jan. 1, the Florida law known as Senate Bill 1134 takes effect. It bans local governments from spending on programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, an umbrella term that typically involves special efforts to assist women and minority members in securing promotions, employment and contracts.<\/p>\n

Other provisions of the law go further, restricting governments from allowing tax dollars to be spent promoting diversity or inclusion. On Wednesday night, Meiner and the City Commission unanimously voted to rush funding to Pride and the local LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, and on other expenditures, before the anti-DEI rules take effect Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

\"Miami Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner rides a city fire truck in the Pride parade on April 12, 2026. Florida\u2019s new anti-DEI law is forcing the city to halt financial support for the LGBTQ event as of Jan. 1, and the rules may prevent city officials from marching in the parade at all. Courtesy of Miami Beach <\/p>\n

\u201cThese investments are part of what makes Miami Beach Miami Beach,\u201d Miles Davis, advocacy director for SAVE, an LGBTQ-rights group, told commissioners.<\/p>\n

Multiple speakers at the meeting said they hoped the state crackdown would be temporary, with a court challenge eventually striking down or weakening the funding restrictions. But for as long as the law remains in place, Pride backers expect to lose Miami Beach\u2019s government as a high-profile partner of the event.<\/p>\n

\"Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava walks down Ocean Drive during the 18th annual Pride parade in Miami Beach, Florida, on Sunday, April 12, 2026. SAM NAVARRO Special for the Miami Herald <\/p>\n

\u201cThe firetruck is usually at the front of the parade,\u201d Bruce Horwich, chairman of Miami Beach Pride, told the Miami Herald. \u201cWe have an honor guard, which is police officers and firefighters carrying flags. That\u2019s usually followed by a couple of police motorcycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019ll be allowed. I don\u2019t think the mayor can ride in a firetruck like he has the last few years,\u201d Horwich said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida hasn\u2019t released rules for how local governments should adhere to the new anti-DEI rules, leaving elected leaders and administrators to speculate on how to comply. Earlier this month, Miami-Dade began winding down volunteer advisory boards representing Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ residents, as well as the county\u2019s Commission for Women. In North Miami, the city doesn\u2019t plan to fund the annual celebration of Haitian Heritage Month.<\/p>\n

The law allows Florida to force out of office any elected official or government employee who violates the law, raising the stakes for noncompliance and encouraging a play-it-safe approach on whether an event or program probably would be considered DEI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is lots of fear about this law because of its vagueness,\u201d said Joe Saunders, senior political director at Equality Florida. Saunders said he doesn\u2019t see the new law being able to bar a mayor from attending a parade on behalf of the city, but he also predicted some local governments won\u2019t want to test the limits of the rules. \u201cWe also know the draconian penalties in this law may lead local officials to self-censor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The funding package sponsored by Fernandez that commissioners approved Wednesday has the hint of a possible workaround for Pride after 2027. It asks city lawyers to explore whether Miami Beach could enter into a funding deal in the coming weeks that would allow dollars to be paid out in 2027 and beyond, given the contract would be signed before the anti-DEI law takes effect.<\/p>\n

While the Miami Beach Pride festivities rely on public dollars for about a third of its $1.2 million budget, government support also has symbolic value, backers said. Seeing the local mayor waving to the crowd or a squad car with a rainbow flag on the hood conveyed an official stamp of approval for people of all sexual orientations, said Henry Williams, who emcees the parade as his drag persona, Tiffany Fantasia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows that the leaders of our community support us,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThat means a lot to many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, city commissioners adopted a resolution celebrating Pride month, with a clause detailing the looming state ban on DEI-related funding. These \u201clegal restraints,\u201d the resolution read, do not diminish Miami Beach\u2019s \u201cresponsibility to foster a safe, welcoming and inclusive community for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carol Coombes, a local nonprofit consultant and LGBTQ advocate, brought a jumbo version of the resolution to the City Commission meeting to thank the board for their funding. \u201cIt\u2019s the last one they can give,\u201d she told a reporter, referring to the Pride resolution. \u201cThe parade is going to look very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Miami Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt said she\u2019ll be at the 2027 Pride parade, even if Florida law bars her from being there in her official capacity as a commissioner. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Meiner did not respond to Miami Herald inquiries on whether he\u2019ll be able to repeat his Pride parade<\/a> appearances in 2027. Commissioner Tanya Bhatt wore a rainbow-print dress to Wednesday\u2019s meeting and said that while she\u2019s not sure she can have an official role in the Pride parade again, she will definitely be there for the fun. \u201cI may not be able to march as a commissioner,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I sure as hell can march as a private citizen. And I will be. And if they want to remove me from office for that, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n