BREAKING: Outrage after Florida quietly paints over Orlando Pulse shooting memorial
Briefly

FDOT crews repainted the rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse nightclub memorial before dawn, replacing the colorful symbol with standard black-and-white lines. The removal occurred without prior notice to city officials and was discovered the following morning. LGBTQ+ leaders, allies, and survivors described the timing and secrecy as a desecration and expressed outrage. State Representative Anna V. Eskamani emphasized the crosswalk's significance as a memorial to 49 people killed in the Pulse massacre and criticized the overnight action as shameful and suggestive of bigotry. The state had previously approved the design and research indicates colorful crosswalks can improve pedestrian safety.
"In the middle of the night, FDOT painted over our rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse Memorial," Florida state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando, posted on X. "A tragedy that we have worked so hard to find power in pain. A rainbow crosswalk that sparked joy and showed our love for all people."
In an interview with The Advocate, Eskamani said Orlando officials had been working within FDOT protocols to preserve the rainbow crosswalk, citing its significance not only to LGBTQ+ Floridians but to the city as a whole. "We experienced a tragedy of 49, mostly LGBTQ+ people, being murdered almost 10 years ago. And so we wanted to preserve this crosswalk," she said. "Then, apparently, in the middle of the night, FDOT painted over it, with no notice, no warning, and did not tell the city. We only found out this morning because there was no more crosswalk there. It's so incredibly shameful. Doing it in the middle of the night emphasizes that you're trying to hide your bigotry."
Read at Advocate.com
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