LAWYER: GUYS LIE; VERIFY THEIR AGE BEFORE MEETING DESANTIS CONTINUES TO UTILIZE CHILDREN TO ADVANCE HIS ANTI-LGBT AGENDA

In its latest effort to sanitize sexuality, the DeSantis administration has now entered a private place of business, threatening to revoke the liquor license of the Hyatt Regency Miami, following the “Drag Queen Christmas” event that was held at the hotel-affiliated James L. Knight Auditorium in December. The admission policy allowed children under the age of 18 to attend the show with an adult.

The DeSantis administration does not take aim directly at the drag queens but instead claims that, because children were exposed to the drag show (despite a warning from the state), the hotel’s premises should lose its liquor license.

What was supposed to be a routine hook up from Growlr, an adult gay dating app, turned into a nightmare for Brett Parson, a well-respected former police officer from Washington D.C.

Parson met a 19-year-old man at Coconut Creek gas station. Or so he thought. It was only revealed later that the man was in fact a 16-year-old boy. The age of consent in Florida is 18.

Parson and the boy engaged in sexual activity in the car before attempting to drive elsewhere. The boy attracted the attention of the police and was later pulled over and confessed to the hook up.

“From the outset, it was our position that things weren’t as they appeared,” Parson’s attorney, Michael Dutko, told the Washington Post. “Brett Parson was not some predator in search of a child or young person. He did nothing but go onto an adult site looking for companionship.”

In court documents, the victim also stated he consented to the acts and never felt forced or threatened.

Those facts, however, are irrelevant in Florida. If you are over the age of 23 it is unlawful to have sex with a minor regardless of whether you’re ignorant of the minor’s age, or even if the minor lied about their age.

Parson, who was 53 at the time, was first arrested in February of 2022 and charged with two counts of Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor. At the time, the parents of the boy wanted to press charges against him. Prosecutors recently dropped the charges against Parson because the victim was no longer willing to cooperate.

The victim’s parents had wanted to proceed with the trial, but not if it meant their son having to recount the experience on the witness stand.

“This is a case that failed because the victim refused to prosecute. However, it should serve as a warning to anyone using dating apps that the people you meet may not be what they first appear to be. Just because someone’s profile says they are an adult, that may not necessarily be the case,” said Russell Cormican, a criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale. “Failing to take precautions to verify the age of the person you are talking to could lead to criminal charges or extortion attempts. Mr. Parson ultimately prevailed in his case, but it certainly came at a price. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this circumstance.”

Before he retired, Parson served as a supervisor in the D.C. police department’s LGBT liaison unit.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation accuses the venue of several violations, including a prohibition of “lascivious exhibition” to people under the age of 16. “The nature of the show’s performances, particularly when conducted in the presence of young children, corrupts the public morals and outrages the sense of public decency.”

“Exposing children to sexually explicit activity” violates the Department’s licensing standards for operating a business and holding a liquor license,” claims a DeSantis official.

Last year, Governor DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits public school teachers in Florida from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity.

This is a different kind of war DeSantis has started. It is now clear that DeSantis does not want to protect kids from topics in a public education setting. It is now clear that DeSantis is using kids as a tool to root out a community that contributes to the economy and creates the flair that makes Miami great.

In 1992, the Miami Herald published a collection of stories, “A Gay Renaissance,” highlighting how the influx of gay people to Miami restored dilapidated Art Deco buildings, opened businesses, opened a local chamber of commerce, and built political clout. In 1994, Miami became the first city in Miami-Dade County to ban discrimination based on gender identity. “We are here to live in peace. We are citizens just like everyone else. We are lawyers and doctors and judges. And the fellow who delivers the newspaper, and the ones who are waiting on you, and who are washing your dishes,” said Michael Aller, of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

If the DeSantis administration is genuinely concerned about the welfare of children, it would prohibit them from being permitted to enter establishments like Tilted Kilt and Twin Peaks Restaurants, which have locations across the state, where young waitresses are hyper-sexualized, and required to don lingerie while serving liquor to patrons who bring children along.

DeSantis is attempting to set a dangerous precedent which could lead to the administration threatening to close movie theaters where adults to bring their children to movies with sexualized scenes. Or restrictions on concerts like Lady Gaga, Madonna and Beyonce. Now is the time for Floridians to stand up to this witch hunt against the LGBTQ community disguised as an effort to protect the children.

Tamara Holder is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney. She built a pro bono legal clinic at Rainbow Push Coalition under Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr, and was a progressive legal analyst on Fox News Channel for nearly a decade.