(Photo provided to Watermark)
ORLANDO | The Orlando Police Department is looking into who tampered with an electronic road sign in the Lake Nona area May 17 that was altered to display the message “KILL ALL GAYS.”
The sign with the bright orange message was discovered in the early morning hours in the area known as Medical City near Lake Nona Blvd. and Nemours Pkwy. Police arrived on the scene just before 5 a.m.
A spokesperson for the City of Orlando confirmed with FOX 35 that the sign was in that location for the past four days for a planned 5K run happening this weekend. The spokesperson told the local news team that the message was immediately removed and police and the company who owns the sign have been notified. The sign has also been removed.
Images of the sign made their way to social media where it was shared by many, including several local leaders.
“This happened in Lake Nona — the homophobia and transphobia needs to stop,” wrote Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani. “The rhetoric is already bad, the policies dangerous — and all of it has and will translate into violence.”
Former state representative and current candidate for Florida Senate District 17, Carlos Guillermo Smith took to Twitter, saying that this display of hate is not what the place he calls home represents.
“It’s not Orlando, it’s not Florida. It’s a dystopian upside down world contrived out of an era of unchecked political extremism and overt bigotry,” Smith wrote. “I refuse to be a bystander. We will not let hate win.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer shared his distaste in a Facebook post, writing “Hate has no place in Orlando and this disgusting display is not who we are as a community. To Orlando’s LGBTQ+ residents and visitors: you are respected and valued here. And we won’t be deterred in our efforts to ensure that our city is inclusive for all.”
The hateful act occurred on the same day as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, a day that aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ rights violations worldwide. It also marks the day in 1990 that the World Health
Organization delisted “homosexuality” as a medical diagnosis.
Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has been on the rise recently, most notably from the Republican-led Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Only hours after the traffic sign incident was discovered, DeSantis was at a private Christian school in Tampa signing four anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law. It is largest slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills to be signed in a single legislative session in Florida history.
