In a blow to Governor Ron DeSantis’s “war on woke”, the city of St. Petersburg in Florida is set to convert 164 city bathrooms into “all-gender” facilities in a gesture of defiance towards the political right, and support for the transgender movement. Any signage indicating specific genders must now be replaced with all-gender designations, while multi-stall bathrooms will remain separated into men’s and women’s facilities.
Mayor Ken Welch – a far left Democrat and the first African American mayor of St. Petersburg – signed the executive policy on September 1st, with implementation expected by March 2024.
The city’s LGBTQ+ Liaison, Jim Nixon, said the move aims to remove gender identity restrictions to ensure that transgender individuals feel secure using the facilities. “We just felt like this was a good opportunity to make that change since we had made it here in City Hall,” he explained.