A new anti-DEI law championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that takes effect next year has resulted in the cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The city of Delray Beach announced it was ending the popular 60-year-old spectacle – as well as the city’s annual Pride celebration – after reviewing Florida Senate Bill 1134, which DeSantis signed into law and which takes effect January 1.
This new law, the city posted on an official website, “establishes restrictions on municipal funding, promotion, and official actions involving activities defined by legislation as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).”
“After 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 statement said.
“While the City is no longer able to fund these events, this does not prevent private entities from sponsoring these or similar events,” the City of Delray Beach posted on its official Facebook page.
Sensing the anger of his constituents, Del Ray Mayor Tom Carney posted on Facebook that “the city is working feverishly with multiple entities to ensure the 2027 St. Patrick’s Day Parade goes on as planned!”
“The St. Patrick’s Day parade is not just another parade,” wrote Carney, a Republican of Irish descent. “It’s ingrained in the DNA of the Delray Beach community…I’ve read your social media posts, received your emails and it’s clear that the parade means as much to you in the community as it does to me.”
Notably, in his post, Carney did not mention whether he or other city officials were working to save the Pride celebration.
Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Asked by NBC News whether Delray Beach officials might have misinterpreted the new directive in canceling the St. Patrick’s Day parade, a spokesperson for DeSantis forwarded an X message he had previously sent to other media outlets.
He accused Delray Beach officials of engaging in “malicious compliance.”
“What they are doing is not required by Florida law,” the post said. “This is just an attempt to make a political point – one that the mainstream media will no doubt try to amplify. We’ve seen these stunts over the years. Rinse and repeat.”
Nonetheless, the bill specifically prohibits counties, municipalities, public contractors, and grantees from using taxpayer dollars to fund events celebrating “ethnicity.”
DeSantis, a Republican and likely GOP presidential candidate, has led the charge against DEI for several years.
In 2023, he signed a bill that defunded diversity programs at Florida colleges.
“If you look at the way this has been implemented across the country, DEI is best seen as synonymous with ‘discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,’ and that has no place in our public institutions,” DeSantis said at the time. “This bill says the whole DEI experiment is coming to an end in the state of Florida.”
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