MARCH IN HEELS SENDS MESSAGE TO TALLAHASSEE

John Hayden

They marched, they chanted, they sang. It was more than your average “Sunday Funday” along Wilton Drive, as up to 1,000 people came out for the March In Heels rally and protest.

LGBT rights are, once again, under attack by Republican super-majorities in the state legislature. The march was designed to educate the community about the immediate threats to LGBT rights, including the expansion of “Don’t Say Gay,” efforts to shove drag entertainment into the closet, and attacks on trans rights.

“As I started to dig into the legislation,” organizer Chris Caputo told the fired up crowd. “I realized just how crazy and unbelievable the assault is on us. I was beginning to feel a little bit hopeless.”

After a 30-minute rally at the Pride Center, the crowd was separated into four groups to march up Wilton Drive and rotate through four different action stations, each one with a different message.

One stop was at LIT bar, where local drag icon Nicole Halliwell addressed the packed room about the lack of threat drag entertainment holds to the community and how attacks on them are to assert fear. “These bills are based on ignorance and based on misinformation,” she told SFGN between groups. “They figure by doing this, they look like they’re doing something. They’re not taking care of infrastructure. They’re not taking care of homelessness. They’re not taking care of children in our country.

They’re only focusing on targets based on fear mongering.”

Other stops included Bona Italian, where people could register to vote or re-register for mail-in ballots. Mail-in must be done every two years and every time you move because ballots can’t be sent to a forwarding address. Wilton Collective hosted Tatiana Williams from Transinclusive Group, and Pub On the Drive had speakers discuss the threats to teachers at all levels, including universities.

Many groups were at the rally, including SunServe, TransInclusive, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida (GMCSF). “The chorus is against any LGBTQ+ legislation that could be happening in Florida,” Edward Otto Zielke, GMCSF’s Director of Marketing, said. “We protest through song.”

In addition to education and registration, marchers were also able to send emails not only to politicians but also to family operated businesses in Florida. Many are LGBT supportive, but also make donations to the Republican politicians sponsoring hate-filled bills. One organizer told SFGN more than a thousand emails were sent due to the march.

Caputo said that even though he felt defeated before, the size and enthusiasm of the crowd gives him hope.

“I look around and see the power of us coming together. There is no more powerful a group than a group of LGBTQ people who are pissed off and aren’t going to take it anymore.”