Florida Gov. DeSantis Erased a Rainbow Memorial to 49 Murder Victims and Called It “Safety.” Are You Okay with That?
Written by Peter Boykin on August 25, 2025
Florida Gov. DeSantis Erased a Rainbow Memorial to 49 Murder Victims and Called It “Safety.” Are You Okay with That?
#GoRightNews Shared by Peter Boykin
American Political Commentator / Citizen Journalist / Activist / Constitutionalist for Liberty
Florida Gov. DeSantis Erased a Rainbow Memorial to 49 Murder Victims and Called It “Safety.” Are You Okay with That?
🏳️🌈 Don’t Erase PULSE: You Don’t Erase a Community with a Paint Roller
Commentary | By Peter Boykin | Published on GoRightNews.com
What Really Happened Outside Pulse Nightclub
In the dead of night on August 20, 2025, Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) erased the rainbow crosswalk at the site of the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, a tribute first painted in 2017 with state approval to honor the 49 lives lost. The removal was sudden, unannounced, and not even listed on the state’s official “non-compliance” removal list.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defended the action by stating, “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.” The FDOT claimed the move was in line with their mission to “restore uniformity and safety” under newly updated guidelines, citing concerns over “non-standard traffic markings.” But the timing, secrecy, and symbolism couldn’t be ignored.
The repainting sparked immediate pushback. Local residents returned with chalk to recreate the erased rainbow. In response, state troopers were deployed, patrolling the site 24/7, threatening arrests, shifting their rules repeatedly, and dramatically increasing law enforcement presence just to intimidate peaceful protestors. Officers were seen instructing people where they could color, only to reverse those rules hours later.
Local officials, survivors, and even board members from nearby school districts have condemned the intimidation tactics. But the fact remains: the crosswalk wasn’t just repainted, it was targeted.
GAYS FOR TRUMP STATEMENT
“Don’t Paint Over Us. Stand With Us.”
At Gays for Trump, Go Right News, and Gay Right News, we believe in Constitutional liberty for all Americans. That includes the right to live freely, speak freely, and be treated equally under the law. We support Diversity and Inclusion as fundamental principles rooted in the U.S. Constitution.
But we draw a clear line when equity is used as a political weapon. Equity is not about equal opportunity, it’s about forced equal outcomes, and that’s not liberty. What this nation guarantees is equality under the law. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.
What’s happening in Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis is not about constitutional values or public safety. It’s political theater targeting the LGBTQ community. And we’re tired of being used as scapegoats.
DeSantis Didn’t Just Remove a Crosswalk. He Sent a Message.
When DeSantis ordered the Florida Department of Transportation to remove the rainbow crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub on August 20, 2025, he didn’t just erase paint on a street. He erased a symbol of unity, remembrance, and respect for the 49 Americans murdered in a terrorist attack simply for being gay. He justified it as part of a statewide initiative to “restore uniformity” to Florida’s roadways.
This isn’t law and order. It’s performative politics.
They claim this is about “road safety,” but let’s be honest, where was this concern the night of the Pulse tragedy? Where were the Florida Highway Patrol officers then? If that level of dedication to safety existed back then, maybe lives would have been saved.
Now, instead of protecting citizens from actual crime, officers are being used to guard bare asphalt. Why? Because some people are afraid of rainbow colors.
Let’s also not forget that DeSantis once mocked Donald Trump for supporting gay Americans. That’s not leadership, that’s petty. And it shows us exactly where we stand in his version of the Republican Party.
To Our Fellow Republicans: Why Are You Trying to Turn Us Into the Enemy?
We’ve had enough.
Why are so many Republicans working so hard to make gay Americans the villains in every culture war? Why are we blamed for every controversy, every drag show, every TikTok trend, while most of us are just regular Americans who want safety, opportunity, and freedom?
We’re also fed up with people in our own LGBTQ community acting like we should quietly accept the abuse. We don’t excuse bad behavior from anyone. But we’re not going to stay silent while others try to erase us completely.
The Message Is Simple: Real Conservatives Protect Liberty. They Don’t Erase It.
We will not support any Republican who uses “safety” as an excuse to erase LGBTQ history, silence peaceful Americans, or score points in a culture war.
And if DeSantis thinks that what he’s doing is leadership, maybe it’s time we organize something new:
Gays Against DeSantis.
Because anyone who believes removing a memorial crosswalk is brave, or that attacking peaceful LGBTQ Americans is bold, is not a conservative. That’s cowardice pretending to be strength.
If you support spending police resources to babysit paint while real crimes go unchecked, you’re not pro-law and order. You’re pro-distraction.
Here’s the truth:
Our crosswalks aren’t the problem.
Our visibility isn’t the problem.
The problem is the cowardice of those who fear inclusion.
Don’t paint over our history.
Don’t silence our voices.
And don’t pretend this is what the Constitution stands for.
We are Gays For Trump. We stand for real freedom, not fake fights.
The Night They Erased Our Crosswalk
Commentary by (#GoRight with) Peter Boykin, Founder of Gays For Trump
I didn’t help get people off the Democrat plantation so they could run to the porch of the Republican Party and become Uncle Ruckus. I didn’t found Gays For Trump so we could trade one kind of political bondage for another. I founded it so gay conservatives, moderates, independents, and libertarians could stand proudly, unapologetically, and visibly in defense of freedom and the Constitution. Not to be silenced, tokenized, or erased by the same side we helped empower.
We didn’t leave the left just to become silent, obedient mascots for a party that only tolerates us so long as we stay invisible. That’s not freedom. That’s political submission dressed in red, white, and blue.
What we’re seeing with the erasure of the rainbow crosswalk outside Pulse Nightclub in Orlando isn’t just paint on the ground. It’s a message: “We can take back what we gave you, overnight, without notice, and we’ll justify it later.” It’s government overreach masquerading as infrastructure policy, and targeted erasure disguised in administrative jargon.
Governor DeSantis claims it’s about restoring “uniformity” to Florida roads. Which is ironic, given that this is the same governor who defied federal COVID restrictions, and I supported him for it. That defiance showed us that politicians can make exceptions. Which means when they don’t? It’s intentional.
Let’s call this what it is: The Pulse rainbow crosswalk was wiped clean at night, without warning, without public discussion, and the site wasn’t even on FDOT’s official list of crosswalks to be repainted. That’s not due process. That’s a quiet erasure of identity under the guise of policy.
Let’s be honest: if this was truly about “road safety,” the Pulse crosswalk would’ve never been approved in the first place. It stood for nearly a decade without issue. Its sudden destruction was intentional, a deliberate statement that says: “Your visibility ends when we say it does.” And it falls right in line with the broader witch hunt against DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion, without even understanding what those terms really mean. DEI isn’t about forcing beliefs; it’s about ensuring access and visibility. (the only issue with DEI is Equity should be exchanged with Equality) But now, even that’s been twisted into something to be feared.
And yes, this erasure is akin to the “burnouts” people do on rainbow crosswalks across America, driving through Pride-painted streets to leave a skid mark. It’s symbolic vandalism. When the government does the same with taxpayer-funded crews, it sends the same message: Your identity isn’t welcome here.
This isn’t about the aesthetics of a sidewalk. It’s about who gets to be seen, and who gets silenced. It’s about a community still healing from one of the worst hate crimes in U.S. history being told its memorial was suddenly “too political.”
And when people peacefully returned with chalk to recreate it? Troopers showed up in force to intimidate and suppress. Citizens were told to stop coloring. Then told they could. Then told again they couldn’t. New rules made up on the spot. The heavy law enforcement rollout looked more like crowd control than public service. We now have more law enforcement at a crosswalk than we did protecting our border in 2021. Let that sink in.
The truth is: they didn’t erase a sidewalk they erased a promise.
And yes, I’ve seen the backlash firsthand. Not just from the left. But within conservative LGBTQ+ circles too. And what’s worse? The silence, and even cheering, from some right-wing gays. I was blocked by Randy Ross, insulted by a fellow North Carolinian, and called all sorts of names by others over this disagreement. So many gay conservatives have bent so far backward to appease anti-LGBTQ culture warriors, they’ve become everything the left accused them of being tokenized mascots willing to throw their own under the bus for a seat at the table.
As for Randy Ross: There was more exchange with Randy Ross as I do respect this man, we disagreed on this and sadly he decided to block me over it, I really don’t like to block people unless they become trolls, Randy is not a troll and I didn’t block him he is welcome to reach out anytime to discuss matters.
My Answer: You clearly don’t know me or what I stand for. I don’t exist to make you comfortable, and I don’t need your approval. I fight for liberty not for permission from people who confuse silence with strength. You supported Mark Robinson, a man who thinks people like me should be wiped off the face of the earth. And you have the nerve to lecture me about victimhood? Gays For Trump isn’t about playing the victim, it’s about standing up, even when our own party tries to erase us. If you walked away, keep walking. But don’t come barking back at the ones still doing the work. Your hypocrisy is louder than your pride. See yourself out. (fyi I did not block Colin Lively but he did block me)
Let’s stop treating LGBTQ+ identity like a political litmus test. It’s not. And yet, dare to support Pride visibility here and you’re branded a “leftist” or “RINO.” Ridiculous.
This isn’t about TQ+ vs LGB. The rainbow crosswalk wasn’t about pronouns or drag shows. It was about a memorial to 49 murdered people. That’s it.
But here we are again, LGBTQ folks scapegoated for everything: attacks on Pride flags, from Cracker Barrel to cheerleaders to culture decline. It’s the same tired script: blame the gays for everything you don’t like. None of it is ideological, it’s hatred of LGBTQ+ presence. Period.
And it’s BULLSHIT.
The real disgrace? Watching supposed “constitutional conservatives” whine that a painted sidewalk is too radical for public display. If you think a few colors on concrete are what’s tearing the nation apart, you need to look in the mirror.
And to those who say, “It’s just paint” public symbols matter. That crosswalk was a 2017 tribute to 49 souls. Its removal doesn’t erase their memory. It erases our collective promise to remember.
👉 Bottom line: If you’re afraid of a rainbow crosswalk, you’re the problem. Not the gays. If you’re triggered by visible pride, then you’ve mistaken your discomfort for oppression. And if your solution is to erase public memory and suppress protest, you’re not conservative, your authoritarian.
#PrideIsProtest
And blaming LGBTQ for everything you don’t like? That’s not just weak, It’s f**king lazy.
What This Means Going Forward
Don’t let anyone tell you this was “just a repainting.” It wasn’t. It was a trial balloon. If they can erase LGBTQ visibility without protest, what comes next? Revoke gay marriage. Block LGBTQ+ adoption? Cancel our inclusion in schools? Sounds dramatic, until history shows it’s not. (just ask the Germans)
Remember this: they did it overnight. Without telling the city. Without putting Pulse on the removal list. That means they’re willing to act fast, erase your history, and then invent the justification later.
And if they can erase this crosswalk overnight, what’s next?
This isn’t about rainbows. It’s about liberty. It’s about who gets to exist openly, and who gets erased.
I’ll never be silent for others’ comfort. I won’t bow to any party or leader that demands my silence for their acceptance.
This movement began because we refused to be silenced. And I won’t stop now.
We don’t need rainbow roads to know who we are. But when our tributes are defaced, suppressed, and guarded like a threat, we damn well need to speak up.
I repeat this again, I’ll never stay silent just to make someone else comfortable. I won’t bow to any party, or leader, that demands my silence as the price of belonging.
This movement began because we refused to be silenced. I intend to keep it that way.
When Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the removal of the rainbow memorial crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, honoring the 49 LGBTQ Americans murdered in a 2016 mass shooting, he claimed it was about “road safety.” But overnight erasure without public notice or city involvement tells a different story. In this powerful commentary, Peter Boykin, founder of Gays For Trump, exposes the deeper message behind the move: visibility is conditional, and history can be erased with a paint roller. This article calls out the hypocrisy, the scapegoating of LGBTQ Americans, and the silence of those too afraid to speak out. Because if they can erase this, what’s next?
#GaysForTrump, #GayRightNews, #GaysAgainstDeSantis, #GoRightWithPride, #ConstitutionalLiberty, #RealConservativesDefendAll, #LibertyForAll, #RepublicansForEquality, #GOPInclusiveNow, #StopErasingUs, #DontPaintOverUs, #EqualityNotErasure, #RainbowResistance, #DontEraseTheRainbow, #NoMoreScapegoats, #WeRememberPulse, #49NotForgotten, #PulseMatters, #EraseHateNotHistory, #NotPoliticalTheater, #ThisIsNotSafety, #ProtectNotPerform, #CrosswalksMatter, #DEINotWoke, #AmericaIsForEveryone
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