Florida threatens to blast rainbow crosswalks away if city governments won't do it

If several Florida cities continue refusing to remove rainbow crosswalks, state officials may step in to blast the pride away.

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The Florida Department of Transportation under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a letter to Delray Beach ordering city officials to remove a mural in the roadway by September 3, according to the Palm Beach Post. That message came days after city officials voted to defy direction from the state and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

"As required by state law, if the pavement markings are not removed by September 3, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation will remove them by any appropriate method necessary without further notice,” the FDOT letter states. “You are further notified that if the markings are removed by the Department, all costs associated with the removal will be assessed against City of Delray Beach.”

A similar letter also arrived in Key West, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

But notably, the state has yet to pick a fight with some of Florida’s biggest cities with rainbow sidewalks. Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando all have rainbow crosswalks and intersections, but have yet to endure such heavy-handed tactics from the state.

Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith believes those threats will soon arrive. He represents Orlando, which has one of the most significant rainbow crosswalks outside the site of the old Pulse nightclub, a gay club where a mass shooter killed 49 people in 2016.

“I think they will go after it because they go after everything,” Smith, a Democrat and one of the Florida Legislature’s few out lawmakers, told The Advocate.

Smith, though, believes Florida cities have legal grounds to stop the state’s actions.

“Most rainbow, colorful and art-related enhancements have protection,” he said. "The cited rule also clearly outlines an exception for street art intended to ‘serve a functional, safety-related purpose,’ as the city’s current crosswalks were intended to do.”

Nevertheless, other Florida cities like Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach caved immediately after the state issued its directive.