In the Florida Keys, where tourism is the economic engine, the official advertising tagline is simple. “Come as you are.”
This has been a particularly relevant and successful proposition for Key West, a prestigious island on the edge of a 125-mile tropical archipelago that will attract more than 1 million visitors in 2025.
Many visitors come here for Key West’s LGBTQ+ scene, welcoming atmosphere, and week-long Pride celebration each June.
Key West’s first Pride event was a modest walking parade in 1982. By the 2000s, Pride had grown so large that the nonprofit Key West Business Guild began managing it, using county tourism funds to support its efforts.
However, a Florida law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April eliminates funding for events deemed to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In response to this law, Monroe County (where the Keys are located) recently announced that funding for Pride and other LGBTQ+ events and grants from the Tourism Development Council will no longer be available after 2027.
Pride 2026 continues to take place and kicked off with great success on June 3, but this law is already having an impact.
what is written in the law
A statement about the law on Florida’s website explains that the law “prohibits local governments from establishing or maintaining DEI offices, officers, or programs, prohibits taxpayer funding of DEI-related initiatives or third-party contractors that facilitate such initiatives, and requires grant recipients to certify that public funds will not be used to promote DEI.”
In response to the legislation’s announcement, the county posted a statement on its website listing the events that are no longer eligible to apply for 2027 Tourism Development Council grants as a result, including all three of Key West’s major LGBTQ+ events: Pride, Tropical Heat (a festival for men), and Womenfest (a festival for LGBTQ+ women and their allies).
Funding is administered collectively by the Monroe County Tourism Development Council (TDC) and comes from taxes on hotels and lodging facilities throughout the Keys (often referred to as the “bed tax”).
The guild will lose more than $200,000 in funding for all three annual events, said Cori Convertito, the nonprofit’s board president.
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The county’s statement also outlined potential consequences: “The law also establishes enforcement provisions, including possible legal action by residents against counties that violate the law and penalties for elected officials, including removal from office for misconduct. Monroe County emphasizes that these changes are not discretionary and must comply with state law.”
In a podcast interview with Afar, Kara Franker, president and CEO of Visit Florida Keys, the region’s tourism marketing arm, also weighed in. “Yes, this is a difficult situation. There’s no other way to describe it,” she said. “We’re a destination that has always worked with the LGBT community and it’s really engraved in our history, and this is a difficult thing for everyone to understand how to navigate. But at the same time, we’re also required to abide by the law.”
what happens now
The Key West Business Guild, a marketing organization that has promoted LGBTQ+ businesses in Key West since 1978 and managed the island’s Pride festival since the early 2000s, says it is committed to keeping Pride going. In addition to the approximately 250,000 tourists that Pride attracts to the event, it is also working to benefit the island’s LGBTQ+-owned businesses and communities.
“We have to move forward,” says Convertito, the guild’s president. “We are already in the planning stages of how we will adapt. We were already in discussions with the city even before this bill was signed.”
To accomplish this goal, the group created a new nonprofit organization called Gay Key West. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, this nonprofit organization can accept donations specifically designated for Pride 2027 and beyond. (Gay Key West does not yet have a separate website, but you can contact the guild for now if you have any questions.)
“I think people are eager to support (Pride events),” says the Visit Florida Keys flanker. “So I think we’re even going to see a renewed excitement from people who want to make sure their events go ahead even though they’ve relied on tourism development taxes in the past.”
However, not all local organizations that contribute talent and effort to the annual Pride festival rely on government funding, and many already have grassroots support systems in place.
For example, Queer Keys is a prominent LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization in Key West that operates community programs and services throughout the year.
“We have never received any government funding. We have received a few small grants, but most of our funding is private,” said Beth Moyes, event coordinator, operations manager, and interim executive director of Queer Keys. “So we were already in a position where we couldn’t rely on anyone else.”
Susan Kent, a 35-year Key West resident and activist who has worked on LGBTQ+ events for decades, said fundraising is important, but then there’s the question of optics. Kent discovered Key West while working for a regional airline for 15 years. She continued to work for local Keyes nonprofit organizations.
“With all the negative press across the country, especially in Florida, the question is: Will people come to Key West for Pride, or will they go back to being a small, local event that doesn’t attract a lot of tourists?” Kent said.
What will happen at Pride in Key West this June?
This year’s Pride Month events began June 3 with a Guild luncheon featuring guest speaker Pastor Gina Durbin, who recently moved to the Keys with his wife to assume the role of pastor of Metropolitan Community Church in Key West. The annual Pride kickoff party was held later that night.
“The luncheon was incredibly emotional and the kickoff party was full of joy,” said local resident Sarah Compton, who owns the marketing company Discover Your Key West. “It was amazing to see our community come together to celebrate authenticity, inclusivity, and love.”
For now, Key West Pride continues. The Sunday night parade (June 7th this year) is a local gathering for anyone who wants to participate, including church and city officials, scantily clad men from the Bourbon Street Pub, drag queens and local celebrities.
“There’s unity in the air right now,” said Fritzi Estimondo, associate director of the guild.
“This year’s theme, ‘Coloring the Island: A Celebration of Identity through Color and Creativity,’ gives us what we all need: a reason to come together and celebrate who we are.”
Estimondo added, “Key West has long been a haven for free spirits and welcoming people, and we’re not going to change that now. This is a hopeful week. This is our week.”