Police in Florida deployed to stare at crosswalks so no one dares paint them rainbow — MAGA priorities at work

A battle over rainbow crosswalks is erupting in Florida, where state officials are moving to erase symbols of LGBTQ+ pride from public streets. What began this week as a statewide order to remove Pride-themed crosswalks has now turned into a standoff between citizens and the state—complete with police cars guarding stretches of asphalt.

Nowhere is this struggle more charged than at the Pulse memorial in Orlando, where 49 LGBTQ+ people were murdered in 2016. Earlier this week, Florida road crews painted over the rainbow crosswalk at the site in stark black and white. Within hours, residents returned with chalk, then fresh paint, to restore the colors. The state erased them again. By the next day, officers were stationed at the crosswalk, their mission not to protect mourners, but to ensure no rainbow reappeared.

“Having the police watch over us is unsettling,” one visitor told local station WESH. “It’s a sign of the times and sadly becoming the new normal.” State Rep. Anna Eskamani, confronting officers at the site, said: “It’s sad that we’re in a position where state resources are being used to enforce colors on the road. You have potholes to fix, real crime to go after.”

The push comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent letters to all 50 governors urging the removal of Pride crosswalks, citing “safety concerns.” Florida was the first state to comply. But resistance is spreading just as quickly. In Miami Beach, officials pledged to defy the order and preserve at least one Pride crosswalk there. In Tampa’s Ybor City, residents drew new rainbows in chalk within hours of Orlando’s being erased. “You can try to make chalk illegal in the state of Florida, but we will still find a way,” said local activist Dave Cutler.

For many Floridians, the stakes are bigger than paint. Florida has already stripped away healthcare access for trans adults and pulled books with queer characters from schools. Now, critics say, the government is attempting to erase LGBTQ+ visibility from public life itself.

But if the past week has made anything clear, it’s this: rainbow colors keep coming back. And no squadron of police cars can make them disappear.