SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Members of Sarasota’s LGBTQ+ community and their allies gathered downtown Saturday evening for an event they say was about compassion, solidarity, and visibility in the face of what they view as statewide erasure.

Community non-profit organization Project Pride SRQ, hosted “Compassion at the Crosswalk” Saturday evening.

The organization says the idea of the gathering came after the Florida Department of Transportation, or FDOT, ordered cities to remove all decorative street art that does not comply with federal traffic standards. FDOT cited safety concerns, but local advocates say the move has deeper implications.

Project Pride Executive Director Tom Edwards said the decision hit especially hard after the removal of rainbow crosswalks in front of Orlando’s Pulse

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