CNN Tonight sent Victor Blackwell down to Florida to report on Thursday how people there are planning to celebrate Pride Month in the aftermath of Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a bill that prohibits children from being present at sexualized events. Of course, that’s not how Blackwell spun it. Instead, he claimed mourned about how Pride events will be less attended this year.
As part of his appearance, Blackwell aired a recorded segment interviewing various people about how the law has impacted them and how they are adapting. At the end of that segment, Blackwell says, “At the start of a month that's in part a celebration of visibility, some feel that the Sunshine State is shoving them back into darkness.”
The clip ends with a hamburger restaurant owner John Paonessa claiming, “Now, with the governor stepping and the legislation that’s going through, it’s -- we're moving back in time. It is unfortunate for us and everybody else in this state because what they're doing, it's heartbreaking.”
Back live, host Alisyn Camerota declared, “it is so interesting because it is one thing to read a law in black and white on paper and it is another to see the real- world impact, which is what you're showing us.”
Did Camerota actually read the law? Based off the preceding report, the answer appears to be no. The law bans children from “adult live performances” which is defined as “depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities … lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”
Just once it would be nice if someone like Blackwell could ask someone like Paonessa what the problem with that is. Instead, we get Camerota asking, “And so, in terms of the numbers of people who turn out, you know, just to support, just to see the parade, just to have fun, what are they expecting this year? Will they be drastically lower numbers?”
Blackwell wasn’t sure. He reported some want to continue as normal because “the point is visibility” while “others say the threat are real.”
Those threats include “What we're seeing in department stores” and “graffiti and vandalism, that's targeting the gay community, that people just cannot take that physical risk. So, they really don't know how many people are going to show up.”
This segment was sponsored by Ring.
Here is a transcript for the June 1 show:
CNN Tonight
6/1/2023
11:20 PM ET
VICTOR BLACKWELL: At the start of a month that's in part a celebration of visibility, some feel that the Sunshine State is shoving them back into darkness.
JOHN PAONESSA: Now, with the governor stepping and the legislation that’s going through, it’s -- we're moving back in time. It is unfortunate for us and everybody else in this state because what they're doing, it's heartbreaking.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Victor, it is so interesting because it is one thing to read a law in black and white on paper and it is another to see the real- world impact, which is what you're showing us. And so, in terms of the numbers of people who turn out, you know, just to support, just to see the parade, just to have fun, what are they expecting this year? Will they be drastically lower numbers?
BLACKWELL: Well, the answer to that is they don't know. I mean, right here in Central Florida, the big show here is Gay Days. Typically, north of 150,000 people come here to Central Florida for events and parties and they go to the theme parks and wear red shirts to be seen. The point is visibility.
But people are split here. Some say that this is not the time to shrink with these new laws, more than 400 by some counts across the country, and certainly the laws here in Florida. This is the time to stand up as an element of resistance and resilience. Others say that the threats are real.
What we're seeing in department stores, what we're seeing, graffiti and vandalism, that's targeting the gay community, that people just cannot take that physical risk. So, they really don't know how many people are going to show up. Today was the start of the festivals.
