Tampa Raises Pride Flag at City Hall Amid Rising Tensions

In the early light of June 12, beneath the shadow of towering palm trees and the sharp lines of Tampa’s city hall, something quietly revolutionary is about to happen. Mayor Jane Castor, Tampa’s only openly gay mayor, will step forward once more into history—not with grand fanfare, but with the deliberate grace of someone who’s fought for visibility, for truth, and for equality.

At 8:30 a.m. sharp, the Pride flag will rise, fluttering over 315 E Kennedy Blvd., a colorful defiance in the face of deepening legislative darkness. And just like that, the city will whisper to its people, “You are safe here. You belong here.”