Local conservatives are outraged about the City of Venice’s Pride Festival last weekend in Sarasota County. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the community was invited to watch an LGBTQ Pride parade in downtown Venice. It also had a “Kids Korner” that had games, and face painting, for the children. The acting chair of the party, Jack Brill, complained about a booth displaying rainbow-colored sex toys while children walked by. The Republican Party of Sarasota County published a letter calling the pride event “outrageous and unacceptable.” It wants a full investigation into the city’s permit for the event. The CAN community health, a nonprofit in Sarasota specializing in HIV education said “our events and activities are never advertised as children’s events and are reevaluating all outreach activities for future community events.” A spokesperson for the city of Venice said “this was the first time this event was conducted on city property. It was presented to the city as an event which would be suitable for all ages.”
