Politicians, activists and community members have expressed outrage over the erasure of a rainbow pedestrian crossing in Orlando, Florida, created to memorialise the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre.
According to reports, state officials acted without warning on Wednesday night, painting over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue in Orlando under the cover of darkness.
The crossing led to the site of the Pulse queer nightclub, where on 12 June 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire on patrons. A total of 49 LGBTQ+ people and their friends were brutally murdered, and more than 50 others were injured.
After a three-hour standoff with police, Mateen was shot dead when officers stormed the club. The massacre remains the single deadliest known attack on LGBTQ+ people in modern history.
The site of the former nightclub is being transformed into a museum and memorial. The rainbow crosswalk, installed in 2017 following a petition signed by thousands, formed part of the commemorative space honouring the victims.
LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida condemned the removal, accusing state officials and Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ Governor Ron DeSantis of “defacing a sacred space in the heart of Orlando.”
Local Leaders Speak Out
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he was “devastated to learn that overnight the state painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue.”
He asserted that, “This callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was at the time our nation’s largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety data or discussion, is a cruel political act.”
Dyer noted that the crossing was installed in close coordination with the state and adhered to national safety standards. “In fact, the crosswalk that is part of the Pulse Memorial was installed by the state,” he stressed.
DeSantis Dismisses Criticism
Governor DeSantis — whom the Human Rights Campaign has described as “an existential threat to every LGBTQ+ person in Florida and beyond” — dismissed criticism of the rainbow crossing’s removal. On social media he declared: “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”
Florida Democratic state representative Anna V. Eskamani rejected DeSantis’s claim, writing on X: “It was never a political statement, and caring about people of all backgrounds is not meant to be a political statement.”
Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman agreed: “The rainbow crosswalk at Pulse was a tribute, not a political statement — and a tribute authorised by a Republican administration, at that. It was specifically designed to enhance pedestrian safety for people paying their respects.”
Berman added: “Removing that crosswalk was a mean-spirited attempt to demoralise the LGBTQ+ community and an insult to the 49 people who lost their lives there nearly a decade ago.”
Community Responds with Defiance
In a defiant act on Thursday, dozens of outraged LGBTQ+ community members gathered at the site. Using chalk, they coloured in the rainbow once again, reclaiming the erased memorial.
The removal of the rainbow crossing appears to be linked to a directive from President Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, ordering all US states to eliminate rainbow crosswalks. He argued that “taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks.”
Orlando recolors the Pulse Memorial Sidewalk Rainbow after DeSantis paved over it. We are Orlando Strong and no one can ever erase the LGBTQIA+ Community 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/NLS7pOz1xQ
— 🍒Jeremy Rodriguez🍒 (@jeremy_rodrigue) August 21, 2025
A memorial to the victims murdered at Pulse Nightclub was painted over without warning. Despite being installed by the state in 2017. All of the sudden it’s an issue for those with hate.
It makes me sick to see the color stripped but Orlando is showing up. pic.twitter.com/3Jzb60NpPv
— nick (@Framesofnick) August 22, 2025
Last night, the DeSantis administration snuck in and tried to quietly erase the state-approved crosswalk to honor the 49 people murdered at Pulse Nightclub.
So this afternoon, the community showed up to do a little chalking.
I love you, Orlando. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/gDDCaFY7oC
— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) August 22, 2025
