Tampa is canceling its beloved annual Pride on the River event, citing Florida’s recent political attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community as the main cause for concern. “In the end, we didn’t want to take any chances,” said Carrie West, president of Tampa Pride. The cancellation came Wednesday after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will hold businesses liable if children attend drag shows. “We just said, you know what, we are afraid if we did go through with this [DeSantis] would come in with his Gestapo... not Tampa Police, because we’re working with them, but maybe another group, and they’d all just pull the plug on it,” West said. DeSantis signed two other bills Wednesday that target the LGBTQ+ community—one that bars teachers from asking students their preferred pronouns, and another that outlaws certain sex reassignment treatments. “DeSantis did this because next month is Pride Month,” West said. “He wanted to make sure he got it in before that.
