Pride lights no longer allowed on Florida bridges, and most other colors too

Yahoo

20-05-2025

There was a storm of protest last year when the state overruled local efforts to decorate bridges with rainbow lights in June for Pride month or in red for sickle cell awareness or orange for gun safety. Instead, the Florida Department of Transportation, which manages state bridges, ruled it 'freedom summer' and called for only red, white and blue lights from Memorial Day to July 4, wiping out plans for other commemorations.
Expect more of the same this year.
FDOT quietly passed a rule that declared 'lighting colors and sequences shall be a default scheme of red, white, and blue,' as of Feb. 1. The lightings 'will be limited to the recognition, commemoration and or promotion of government holidays.'
That means just nine holidays starting with New Year's Day, followed by Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
'Any alternative lighting combinations will be decided by the department,' the FDOT policy says.
The city of Sarasota asked the state for approval of an eye-catching aqua blue color scheme as the default color on the Ringling Bridge when it isn't lit up in red, white and blue for the holidays observed by the state. That was approved, and those colors lit up earlier this month.
But they can't overrule the new policy on their own.
'The city of Sarasota does not have jurisdiction over the Ringling Bridge lighting. As such, the City Commission is not able to accept or consider individual lighting requests,' a city statement said.
From 2020 to 2023, the Skyway Bridge had a vibrant rainbow light display for one week in June to honor Pride Month. But a single Manatee County commissioner who expressed disapproval of requests for light displays honoring Pride and Gun Violence Awareness nixed the plans in 2024.
County Commissioner Mike Rahn said at the time that the requests from various groups 'has somewhat gotten out of control,' and added: 'It should not fall with us as a county commission; it should fall on FDOT.'
St. Pete Pride president Byron Green-Calisch said he was disappointed but not surprised.
'The state of Florida is amazing in the plethora of ways it is looking to be non-inclusive when we should be welcoming more people to enrich our economy.'
He said some people may not realize what a lift to the spirits something like the Skyway Bridge lit up in a rainbow of lights is.
'It is a reminder that you are not alone,' he said.
On the upside, Green-Calisch said he hasn't been turned down by any businesses, buildings or organizations in St. Petersburg to put Pride flags out front or in their windows in the coming weeks. He braced himself after news broke that Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa decided not to display any Pride or Juneteenth flags out of concern it could lose its federal research grants.
He said St. Pete Pride still has the strong support of sponsors like Hard Rock Cafe and Raymond James and many small businesses across the area.
'There is hope out there,' Green-Calisch said. 'Even if you don't see the bridge light up, there are people out there actively engaging and fighting.'