DeSantis Takes Aim at St. Patrick’s Day: Florida Cancels Irish Celebrations and Declares Muslim Organizations Terrorist Groups

Since 1968, people in Delray Beach have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a parade. Thousands have filled the city’s streets to celebrate Irish culture and enjoy music together. In 2027, the city government is pulling out. It is also canceling the Pride celebration it has organized for the LGBTQ+ community. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a law banning public funding for diversity initiatives. Now even a celebration honoring Ireland’s patron saint has to answer the political question of whether its participants are making their heritage a little too visible.

The city said a review of the law had determined that it would no longer be allowed to organize or fund either event. Public promotion would also be prohibited. The restrictions apply to events involving ethnicity or sexual orientation. Gender identity is explicitly covered as well. The result is that a law intended to drive social differences out of publicly funded activities is now targeting the public celebration of a cultural tradition. City officials can no longer organize the parade themselves. Nobody has disputed that the people taking part still want to celebrate it.

DeSantis signed SB 1134 in April, and it takes effect on January 1, 2027. Local governments will be prohibited from supporting the affected programs directly or through outside contractors. Recipients of public grants must certify that they will not use the money to promote such initiatives. Public officials who violate the law face penalties. The legal restrictions now reach all the way to whether a city is even allowed to announce an Irish parade.

Mayor Tom Carney is looking for a way around the problem. He wrote on social media that officials were "working feverishly with multiple entities to ensure the 2027 St. Patrick's Day parade goes on as scheduled." City Manager Terrence Moore believes a privately funded event would be possible. A private organizer could take over the parade, and the city would be open to such proposals. Municipal funding would remain off-limits. Which other events might fall victim to the new rules remains unclear. The public celebration is supposed to survive, provided someone outside City Hall takes responsibility for it.

The parade has been part of the city's life for nearly six decades and has grown into one of South Florida's largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The local LGBTQ+ community has held at least five Pride celebrations in recent years. Visitors enjoyed live music and booths run by local vendors, even costume contests for pets. Photos from 2023 show rainbow flags along Atlantic Avenue. An ordinary snapshot of life in an American city, now being measured against the demands of state lawmakers.

Back in 2025, Florida's Department of Transportation had a rainbow-painted intersection at Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue sandblasted and painted over. The colors disappeared from the pavement. Now the city itself is disappearing from the list of event organizers. Angry reactions followed on social media. One user called for people to "stand up and fight back against this restrictive regulation!!" Another mourned the loss of what had been such a great day. Delray Beach thanked everyone who had taken part in the events and helped organize them over the years. There was hardly anything more City Hall could say in its statement.

Elsewhere, cities are starting to face the same calculations. Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said no such proposals had yet come before the city for a decision. If state law restricted the city's involvement, it would have to comply. He hoped private and nonprofit organizers would continue holding their celebrations. Hollywood's St. Patrick's Day parade is still scheduled to go ahead. Fort Lauderdale is also sticking with its celebration for now. City Commissioner Steve Glassman, however, announced that starting in 2027, the city would no longer fund or promote prohibited events, with decisions made on a case-by-case basis.

The political assault on diversity initiatives reaches all the way to Washington. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders targeting such programs and threatened educational institutions with the loss of federal funding. Republican politicians claim these measures discriminate against white people and men. Civil rights organizations counter that the programs are intended to address historical inequalities. In Florida, the country's largest Muslim civil rights organization has suspended its operations following the implementation of another law allowing state authorities to designate groups as terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, in Delray Beach, the question is whether a private sponsor can save an Irish parade.