We Spoke!

And 200,000 came out to defy DeSantis pogrom against us.

200,000 people showed up for Orlando Pride in defiant middle finger to Ron DeSantis

An 11-year-old transgender girl was the parade Grand Marshal.

LGBTQ Nation

By Bil Browning

October 23, 2023

Over 200,000 people showed up for Orlando Pride over the weekend, as an 11-year-old transgender girl led the parade as Grand Marshal.

The event was seen as a way to push back against Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ (R) ongoing campaign of discrimination and persecution of the LGBTQ+ community.

And thumb their noses against DeSantis even more, the Grand Marshall was a trans girl!

Dempsey Jara, the parade’s figurehead, was the youngest Grand Marshall in the event’s history. She waved and blew kisses from the front seat of a convertible, wearing heart-shaped pink sunglasses and a floral dress, with a puppy on her lap.

“Being transgender is not about a choice,” she told local media before the event. “It’s about being true to myself. It’s about embracing who I am even when the world tries to tell me otherwise.”

“It’s about standing tall in my identity even when it’s really hard.”

The turn out was even bigger then expected, they stood together in defiance against all the anti-LGBTQ+ laws Florida has passed.

Orlando’s Come Out With Pride celebrates LGBTQ community this weekend

Orlando Sentinel

By PATRICK CONNOLLY

October 20, 2023

Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals and allies are set to gather at Lake Eola in Orlando this weekend, showing the community and world that they are “Stronger Together.”

That’s the theme of the 19th Come Out With Pride Orlando event, which takes place beginning at noon on Saturday with family-friendly festivities, entertainment, vendors and resources for the community. More than 200,000 people are expected to gather throughout the celebration, which also includes a colorful pride parade, nationally-known drag headliners and a fireworks display.

“Within the LGBTQ+ community and in our history, we’ve had setbacks, but every single time, we’ve managed to march forward and overcome them,” said Tatiana Quiroga, executive director of Come Out With Pride. “The City of Orlando has always been a welcoming and inclusive place, and Orange County as well.”

All those people coming out is amazing!

I have been to many Pride events including the New York Pride parade in 2009 (The parade was great but getting there and back was a nightmare, you can read about it here.) and every event was uplifting, fill of happiness and a family friendly event. Some of them even had playground for little kids.

Newsweek wrote about the Grand Marshall…

An elementary school-age transgender girl served as the youngest-ever grand marshal at a major Orlando, Florida, LGBTQ+ Pride parade this past weekend.

Amid the backdrop of a culture war that has seen conservatives in the Sunshine State target transgender children and adults with restrictive laws and derisive rhetoric, 11-year-old Dempsey Jara was in the spotlight as grand marshal of Orlando's Come Out With Pride event on Saturday.

A video shared to Dempsey's mom-managed Instagram account on Sunday shows her seated on the back of an open-top car with a puppy on her lap and both of her parents seated in front.

Dempsey, wearing a princess dress and pink heart-shaped sunglasses, is shown blowing kisses to spectators and waving as the parade progresses.

[...]

"Being transgender is not about a choice," she said, according to The Orlando Sentinel. "It's about being true to myself. It's about embracing who I am even when the world tries to tell me otherwise. It's about standing tall in my identity even when it's really hard."

It is not clear how many people attended the Pride parade, although the park was reportedly "packed" and over 200,000 people had been expected to attend.

Those who took part included U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost, who represents part of Orlando and is the youngest member of Congress, and former state lawmaker Carlos Guillermo Smith, who was the first openly LGBTQ+ Latino to serve as a Florida representative.

Care to guest what party he is a member of?

Even the local Fox station cover the Pride Parade!

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered downtown in Orlando for the 'Come Out With Pride' festival and parade. 

'Come Out With Pride' is one of the largest pride events in Florida. The event typically brings around 200,000 people to downtown Orlando for the parade and festival.

"It’s a great vibe. Everyone is having a great time. Love is in the air. This is what it’s about," said Claudio Gonzalez, who attended the parade.

Many Central Florida lawmakers, city and county leaders, and local law enforcement were in the parade on Saturday.

"Doesn’t matter your beliefs or your way of life – we’re all different, but we all enjoy life. This is an example of everyone coming together and having a great time," said Scott Paxton, who also attended the parade.

It is really great that the turn out was so great it took courage to come out in today’s environment in Florida.