Despite Democratic opposition, Randy Fine’s bill to ban ‘political’ pride flags advances

Cities, universities and government entities could be banned from flying pride flags and other banners that express “political viewpoints’ under a bill sponsored by Sen. Randy Fine.

The Senate Community Affairs Committee supported the measure (SB 100) via a 5-3 party-line vote during the bill’s second committee stop, with Republicans in favor. The measure will now go to the Senate Rules Committee before it is ready for a floor vote.

Fine, a Palm Bay Republican, argued his bill wasn’t designed just to keep out Black Lives Matter flags and other more progressive groups from being hung at government buildings.

“A lot of folks in the place that I represent hang Make America Great Again 2024 flags at their homes. Many of them are teachers,” Fine said.

“How would we feel if the city of Palm Bay or the city of Ormond Beach flew the Make America Great Again flag from City Hall? How would we feel if a teacher hung that in their classroom? The idea is whether it’s political viewpoints that we agree with or we disagree with, let’s keep that stuff out of government buildings.”

But Democrats and left-leaning groups, including the ACLU of Florida and Equality Florida, spoke out against the bill. Some argued local governments have a right to display messages on flags.

“The flag ban bill is unnecessary, unclear, unconstitutional and dangerous,” said Jon Harris Maurer, public policy director for Equality Florida. “It does not help Floridians struggling with insurance and housing affordability. Instead, it is a made-up solution to a culture war for political purposes, but it will have real harms.”

Kara Gross, the legislative director for the ACLU of Florida, warned that the bill raises First Amendment issues.

“Could a middle school drawing of a rainbow flag displayed in a school hallway constitute a prohibited display under this bill?” Gross asked. “Would an elementary school teacher be prohibited from displaying a student school project with a picture of a Black Lives Matter? What about a flag outside a dorm room or fraternity?”

One of the few public speakers favoring the bill was Joe Labriola of Christian Family Coalition.

“It’s interesting that we have a lot of people from the LGBTQ persuasion here, who are very intense in flying that specific flag,” Labriola said. “That’s why this bill is so important because it would remove those LGBTQ or any politically oriented flags that are divisive that do not represent all viewpoints from schools as well as government buildings.”