The city of Delray Beach announced it was canceling its 60-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade — and its annual Pride celebration — after reviewing Florida Senate Bill 1134, the anti-DEI law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The law, which takes effect January 1, “establishes restrictions on municipal funding, promotion, and official actions involving activities defined under the legislation as diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“Following a review of the legislation and its requirements, the City has determined that it is legally prohibited from organizing, funding, or promoting these events in 2027,” the city said.
The Scramble
The backlash was immediate. Mayor Tom Carney, a Republican of Irish descent, posted on Facebook that “the city is working feverishly with multiple entities to ensure the 2027 St. Patrick’s Day parade goes on as scheduled!”
“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade isn’t just another parade,” Carney wrote. “It’s engrained in the DNA of the Delray Beach community.”
He did not mention whether he was working to salvage the Pride celebration.
DeSantis’s spokesperson accused Delray Beach officials of “malicious compliance.” “What they are doing is not mandated by Florida law,” the post said. “It’s just an attempt to make a political point.”
But the bill specifically bars municipalities from using taxpayer money to fund events that celebrate “ethnicity.” A St. Patrick’s Day parade celebrates Irish ethnicity. A Pride celebration celebrates LGBTQ identity. Both are now prohibited.
The Bottom Line
Delray Beach canceled its 60-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade and Pride celebration to comply with Florida’s anti-DEI law. The mayor is scrambling to save the parade. DeSantis’s office accused the city of “malicious compliance.” The law bars taxpayer funding for events celebrating ethnicity.
My Opinion
Florida found a way to cancel St. Patrick’s Day. Congratulations, Ron. That takes real talent.
A 60-year-old parade and the state of Florida decided it was too dangerous to allow. Why? Because it celebrates ethnicity. Because the Irish are an ethnicity. Because the anti-DEI law is so broad and so stupid that it cannot tell the difference between a diversity training seminar and a parade.
The mayor is now scrambling to save the parade. He says it is “engrained in the DNA of the Delray Beach community.” He is right. But where was he when the law was passed? Where was he when DeSantis signed it? Where was he when other cities were canceling their events?
He was quiet and now they are surprised that the law is doing exactly what it said it would do.
DeSantis’s office says the city is engaging in “malicious compliance.” That is a fancy way of saying the city is following the law and the law is stupid. If the governor does not like the outcome, he should change the law. Instead, he is blaming the city for reading it.
