Florida removes rainbow crosswalk honouring Pulse nightclub victims

The crosswalk was part of the Pulse Memorial, which honoured the people who were shot in the nightclub

A rainbow crosswalk honouring the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida, Orlando, has been painted over by the state's department of transportation.

The crosswalk was part of a larger memorial to the 49 people who were killed after a gunman opened fire at the gay nightclub in June 2016, in what was then the largest mass shooting in US history.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he was "devastated" by its removal, calling it a "cruel political act" on social media.

"This crosswalk not only enhanced safety and visibility for the large number of pedestrians visiting the memorial, it also served as a visual reminder of Orlando's commitment to honour the 49 lives taken," he said.

Carlos Guillermo Smith, an openly gay state senator, said that the Florida department of Transportation had "ripped the rainbow colours off of this city crosswalk" in the middle of the night.

In a video on X where he is standing in front of the repainted crosswalk, he said the department had "illegally vandalised city property without providing the city of Orlando notice or getting their approval".

"I cannot believe that the [Florida Governor Ron] DeSantis administration has engaged in this hostile act against the city of Orlando," he said.

In his response to the video, DeSantis wrote on X: "We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes".

The BBC reached out to Governor DeSantis' office, who declined to comment and pointed to the governor's post on X.

Ron DeSantis, a well-known Republican figure who ran for president in 2024, has been criticised for his perceived stance against LGBTQ issues in the past.

In 2023, he pushed for the expansion of the controversial so-called "Don't Say Gay" law in Florida, barring public schools from teaching about sexual education and gender identity.

In recent months, Florida's transportation agency has been notifying cities that they risk losing transportation funds unless they remove rainbow-coloured crosswalks.

In June, the agency posted a memo on X prohibiting pavement or surface art associated with "social, political or ideological messages or images", adding that they "do not serve the purpose of traffic control".

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to all 50 states in July urging them to remove political statements from the roads.

"Political banners have no place on public roads," he said in a social media post. "Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks."