As Florida’s outgoing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis maneuvers to brand himself as the heir apparent to Donald Trump’s movement after the president is gone, one Florida city is dealing with some unforeseen consequences of his bigoted war on diversity.

Ever since Republicans suffered historic losses in the midterm elections, DeSantis has been making the media rounds, puffing out his chest and portraying his state as the last bastion of MAGA conservatism. But his rosy portrayals of Florida don’t comport with the facts on the ground, which suggest the state has become an increasingly unaffordable hotbed of right-wing corruption, indoctrination and censorship.

Just ask some of the residents of Delray Beach, who recently discovered that their city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade had been canceled over concerns that it would run afoul of a new, DeSantis-backed law set to go into effect in January. The bill, SB 1134, forbids municipal funding for anything deemed to be a “diversity, equity, and inclusion” program and includes restrictions on activities related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The parade’s organizers recently announced that city officials in Delray Beach decided to end their role in hosting the event out of fear of punishment. And Delray Beach officials have confirmed the cancellation of their annual pride festival for the same reason.

The law doesn’t forbid private entities from sponsoring or organizing these events, and Delray Beach’s Republican Mayor Tom Carney posted on Facebook that he is working with private groups to make sure the parade still happens. (The mayor did not mention Pride in his post, but Delray’s announcement said the city manager was “open to the possibility of a private entity stepping forward to sponsor the St. Patrick’s Day Parade or any future Pride events.”)

This whole planning scramble speaks to the unintended consequences of the illiberalism that has characterized DeSantis’ tenure. The outgoing governor has frequently referred to his state as the “Free State of Florida,” and he’s likely to use his record — if not that framing — when he launches his seemingly inevitable 2028 presidential bid.

But that doesn’t square with a state so opposed to diversity that it forces cities to stop hosting pride festivals and St. Patrick’s Day parades — to stop communities from celebrating who they are.

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