A gay pride parade in Port St. Lucie, Fla., has been called off, and other pride events have been limited to individuals aged 21 and above. This move was made in anticipation of the signing of a bill by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that aims to prevent children from participating in drag shows, according to a report from WFLA.
The California Senate and House of Representatives have both passed SB 1438 or the “Protection of Children Act”. Individuals and businesses are penalized for allowing a child to attend an adult live performance. Those who violate the law can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. This could result in up to one year of imprisonment and fines.
The Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast has canceled the Wednesday event.
“As all of you know, the political climate that we are currently in has us all very concerned for our community. After multiple meetings with city officials, it is with a heavy heart that Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast has to announce that this weekend’s Pridefest will now be a 21 and older event,” the group explained in its Facebook post. “The city has decided that with the likelihood that the Governor will sign the latest bill into effect this evening, we will need to be on the side of caution and has required us to make this necessary change. We are obviously upset and disheartened that it has come to this. We also regret to announce that we will have to cancel our plans to bring back our beloved parade.”
The bill defines adult performances as any live presentation that is performed in front of a live audience and displays or simulates sexual behavior, nudity, or excitement. This can include lewd or specific sexual acts.
Let us review the situation. Parents canceled the event to protect their children from seeing adults in public lewd acts. The events raised the question: Are they celebrating gay pride, or are they meant to groom children?
The answer has been made plainly obvious. These people think if they can’t include young, impressionable children, then there’s really no point in having the event at all. Statistics show that younger generations are increasingly identifying as LGBT — particularly those who identify as transgender. A recent Gallup poll showed that fewer than 1% of Americans born before 1946 identify as LGBT, along with 2.6% of Boomers, 4.2% of Generation X, 10.5% of Millennials, and 20.8% of Gen Z.
