Naples Pride faced a difficult situation when they were granted their event permit by the city. Naples city officials granted the permit with restrictions requiring drag performances be held inside, and that no attendees could be under 18. That prompted the Pride organizers to sue the city. On Monday, US District Judge John Steele ruled that Naples city officials violated free speech by adding these restrictions. In his ruling he wrote:
“The City’s requirement of an indoor location for the drag performance, even if a good faith attempt to mitigate risk, is clearly viewpoint and content based… A restriction imposed on speech deemed immoral or scandalous is clearly a viewpoint-based restriction.”
Many cities have attempted similar restrictions on Pride events following the drag ban signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. Federal courts have ruled that the law cannot currently be enforced, however. Naples was also originally charging $36,000 for security costs, significantly higher than the costs charged to similarly sized events at the same location. That was also struck down by the judge. In a statement on social media, Naples Pride board member Callhan Soldavini was quoted as saying:
“This victory is bigger than drag, bigger than one Pride celebration, and bigger than one community. It is a victory for the rule of law, for the principles of democracy, and for the foundational ideal that no government local, state, or federal may silence voices simply because they are different, or because they challenge the status quo. It reaffirms that the Constitution protects everyone equally not just the favored or the familiar.”
Now the entire community exercises their first amendment rights by participating, performing and attending Naples Pride on June 7.
