The City of Cape Coral in Southwest Florida spent nearly $10,000 in taxpayer funds to facilitate a March 2022 Pride Parade, according to City Councilman Dan Sheppard, who confirmed the amounts to local journalist Sean D. Hartman, who Cape Coral Watch, a blog dedicated to monitoring city policies and initiatives.
The predominantly conservative city had previously failed to disclose the full amount of taxpayer funds used to host the Pride Parade, which was organized by the South Cape Hospitality and Entertainment Association. According to Cape Coral Watch, Council Sheppard received calls from his constituents following the Pride Parade, centering on the prevalence of nudity and other lewd behaviors displayed by attendees and numerous drag performers.
From the Cape Coral Watch report on the Pride Parade.
Residents believe the behavior from some participants cross the line and are calling for decorum practices to be added to parade contracts. Councilman Sheppard agreed, and pushed the city staff to implement universal decorum rules. These rules would apply not just to the Pride Parade but to all public events.
“It’s about respect,” said Councilman Sheppard. “I wouldn’t want to see a woman in a string bikini, practically naked, at Bike Night.”
After City Manager Rob Hernandez initially claimed that the City of Cape Corla only spent $2,412.48 in police protection (which is normally paid by the organizers of events) and $2300 for barricades, Council Sheppard continued to question the City Manager, who ultimately admitted that another $4,585 was spent on providing generators to the event, at the expense of taxpayers.
Hernandez previously served as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Fort Lauderdale, which is just outside of Miami and one of the most liberal places in Florida, which could explain why Hernandez would approve the use of taxpayer funds for such an inappropriate purpose. The City of Cape Coral is currently developing their 10-year plan on “transforming” the city and the recent funding of the March 2022 Pride Parade is a clear indication of how he would like to transform a conservative (family friendly) area into a progressive local like Fort Lauderdale.
In the above photo, you can see children being exposed to drag queens at the NSFW, adult themed Pride Parade. Another photo, which you can see below, showcases the nearly nude winner of last season’s Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Kylie Sonique Love.
The Cape Coral Watch also obtained a photo of a dog being hoisted up by attendees at the Pride Parade, with some sort of device attached to its genitals.
Normally, any private organization or group that wishes to shut down roadways, use city owned barricades and police resources, have to pay out-of-pocket for those costs. However, City Manager Hernandez has stated that the South Cape Hospitality and Entertainment Association will cover the costs incurred by taxpayers by way of “volunteering” with the city, but did not provide a timeline or clear guidelines on how quickly the City of Cape Coral would be reimbursed via volunteer efforts from SCHEA.
A spokeswoman for the City of Cape Coral claimed that they have donated services similar to the ones provided to the March 2022 Pride Parade, but provided a breakdown of in-kind donations to community groups from the City of Cape Coral for the 2011/2012 fiscal year, nearly a decade ago.
Regardless, events like Pride Parades are inherently political and contain programming that promotes a progressive political agenda, which should not be funded by the taxpayers.
As the radical progressives continue to dilute American culture with race baiting and sexualization of children in public schools, citizens should be aware of the fact that the indoctrination is seeping into historically conservative areas, with elected Republican leaders often supporting things like taxpayer funded Pride Parades.