Tallahassee PRIDEFEST organizers plan to unite the community with pride amid a push for legislation, like SB 1438, that some say will hurt the LGBTQ+ community and specifically impact pride events.
Organizer of PRIDEFEST Tyler Clark-McLendon said that the event is a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to feel seen, heard, and celebrated. Something that organizers say is more important now than ever.
"It is concerning," Clark-McLendon said. "It's again part of that necessary visibility and representation with our voices being at the table. We have a lot of people deciding who we are and the things we can do."
Clark-McLendon says those people making those decisions are lawmakers who sponsored SB 1438 which has passed the senate. One of the sponsors of SB 1438 is Senator Clay Yarborough.
The bill would prohibits any performances that depict nudity, sexual excitement, lewd conduct and exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts in front of kids.
That bill being amended to include pride events, like Tallahassee PRIDEFEST.
Rules some say could hurt drag performers due to Republican's current stance toward the LGBTQ+ community.
But Yarborough said this is not about the LGBTQ community.
"I believe when children are exposed to certain things, just like adults, we can't unsee, we can't unhear and we can't unexperience the stuff that goes into our minds," Yarborough said.
Brandon Wolf with Equality Florida said both the senate and house bill is targeting his community, prompting them to issue a travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ people of safety risks if traveling to Florida.
"Although it doesn't say drag, it doesn't say pride in the bill, that's clearly it's target," Wolf said. "The lawmaker who filed it, Randy Fine, said that. He said he was inspired to file this piece of legislation because of a pride festival in his hometown."
Representative Randy Fine sponsored the house version of this bill earlier this month.
ABC 27's team asked him if this also pertains to straight spaces, like sports bar restaurants with sexualized names and uniform clothing.
He said no.
"That's like taking your kid to the beach," Fine said. "I mean, they wear more clothing at Hooters or Twin Peaks than you'll find on your average beach or public swimming pool."
Despite this bill that some say targets the community, Clark-McLendon said organizers hope people come to PRIDEFEST if they feel safe to do so.
"We want people to feel, or to be visible and be represented but only if they feel safe," Clark-McLendon said. "We have to make sure we are providing as Tallahassee Pride, the safest place possible."
Clark-McLendon said Tallahassee Pride has been coordinating with local law enforcement so this event is safe for everyone.
The event is free on Saturday at Kleman Plaza.
