NAPLES PRIDE V. CITY OF NAPLES
Stay informed about our ongoing lawsuit against the City of Naples.
This page includes all our official press releases and public updates, with the most recent information at the top. Read below to learn more about why we're taking a stand for our rights.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RE: Naples Pride Filed an Amended Complaint seeking permanent injunctive and declaratory relief against the City of Naples.
July 30, 2025
Our legal fight for free expression is entering its next chapter.
The first phase of our case sought emergency relief, a preliminary injunction to stop the City of Naples from enforcing discriminatory restrictions on drag performances at Naples Pride's 2025 Pridefest. While the district court granted a preliminary injunction, the Eleventh Circuit issued a stay of that injunction just one day before Pridefest.
Now, we’re going further.
Yesterday, alongside our attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, Naples Pride filed an Amended Complaint seeking permanent injunctive and declaratory relief against the City of Naples.
We bring this lawsuit because the City has and will continue to violate our First Amendment rights.
This is no longer just about temporary protection. We’re asking the court to establish lasting constitutional safeguards to ensure LGBTQ+ people cannot be silenced by bias disguised as bureaucracy. We are directly challenging:
-
The City’s ongoing attempts to suppress LGBTQ+ visibility
-
Excessive and discriminatory security fees
-
The constitutionality of the City’s permitting process
-
At a time when the core values of our Constitution are under attack, Naples Pride stands firm. This fight is bigger than one event or one city—it’s about the fundamental freedoms that define us as Americans. It takes time, courage, and unshakable resolve to protect those freedoms. But our rights and our community are worth every step of the battle.
In a political climate where LGBTQ+ people are being pushed to the margins, we’re not backing down. We’re pushing back with truth, with law, and with pride.
Because visibility is power - Because freedom of expression is non-negotiable - Because these colors don’t run.
The fight for justice continues
READ THE COMPLAINT HERE
Re: Community Update on Naples Pride v. City of Naples
06/06/2025
After a strong victory in District Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted the City of Naples a last-minute stay — issued less than 24 hours before we came together to celebrate Pride. This ruling temporarily allowed the City to enforce its restrictions on our 2025 PrideFest. However, this ruling applies only to the preliminary injunction, which sought immediate, short-term protection of our rights during this year’s festival. It does not end our case, nor does it decide what happens in the future.
Our case is far from over.
Our broader lawsuit — challenging discriminatory security fees and defending our First Amendment rights — remains active and ongoing in federal court. We’re moving forward with hope and conviction.
Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our incredible legal teams — the ACLU of Florida and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP — we continue to move forward with strength, determination, and hope. Their tireless advocacy has been nothing short of heroic.
And to our community: your unwavering support, love, and encouragement are what keep us going. We promise to keep you informed every step of the way — and we remain steadfast in our mission to rise, again and again, until the courts affirm what we already know to be true: that equality, visibility, and free expression are the heartbeat of a real democracy.
READ MORE HERE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RE: Naples Pride Files Lawsuit Against City of Naples
April 14, 2025
Naples Pride Stands Firm in Defense of the First Amendment
Naples, FL — Naples Pride filed a lawsuit on April 10, 2025 represented by ACLU Florida and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP—along with a preliminary injunction over the weekend, against the City of Naples for violating our First Amendment rights by censoring our use of family-friendly drag as a form of celebration and by imposing discriminatory security fees that threaten our ability to hold our annual Naples Pride Festival.
This fight is not just about Pride. It’s about the First Amendment.
“Our right to free speech does not disappear just because some people don’t like the message—or the people delivering it. If government officials can target our LGBTQ+ nonprofit today for political reasons, they can target anyone tomorrow. That should concern every citizen, regardless of political affiliation or identity.”
Cori Craciun, Executive Director, Naples Pride
Drag Is Not a Threat—It’s Art
Drag is a vibrant, creative expression that teaches us we can be whoever we choose to be—whether in a moment of performance or in life. Through comedy, costume, and showmanship, drag challenges rigid gender roles and societal norms. It invites audiences to see the world differently. That’s what art does.
"Just like opera or modern art isn’t for everyone, drag may not be for you. But if you try to impose your personal discomfort on others—on an art form that brings joy and meaning to so many—you’re saying the First Amendment shouldn’t protect everyone, only the speech you personally agree with.”
Callhan Soldavini, Board Member of Naples Pride and In-House Counsel to the organization through Legal Aid Service of Collier County
Attempts to characterize Naples Pride’s drag as lewd or inappropriate are simply inaccurate. Come to our show and see for yourself. Or better yet, review the government investigations into our festival and drag performances—detailed in our lawsuit—which confirm that such accusations are entirely baseless.
Our opponents often equate drag with striptease, but that comparison simply doesn’t hold up. Not all drag is adult-themed. What makes drag a target is the gender identity and expression of the performer.
Restricting it is not about decency—it’s about discrimination.
“At Naples Pride, we stand firmly in our conviction that drag is a legitimate and respected art form—full stop. Characterizing drag or its performers as sexually motivated is not only wildly inaccurate, but also a blatantly discriminatory stereotype rooted in bias and prejudice. We will never bow to such bigotry; we champion inclusion and artistic expression, and we will unapologetically defend our drag performers and their right to express themselves freely through this art form.”
Debbie Gaffoli, Board Chair, Naples Pride
Unjust Fees Are Hurting Our Community
Our lawsuit lays out how the City of Naples has imposed security fees that are significantly higher than those charged for other special events with far larger crowds, street closures, and hours—based not on objective criteria, but on the content of our message and anticipated backlash from opponents of LGBTQ+ rights. That is an unconstitutional “heckler’s veto.” Naples Pride only asks to pay the same
fees, based on the same constitutional criteria as everyone else.
“It’s the government’s job to ensure public safety while also protecting free speech. That’s not just a logistical task—it’s a cornerstone of democracy. When that responsibility is shifted onto the speaker, free speech becomes a privilege for those who can afford it, not a right for everyone. And that’s not how the First Amendment—or democracy—works.”
Callhan Soldavini, Board Member of Naples Pride and In-House Counsel to the organization through Legal Aid Service of Collier County
The Government is Taking Away Resources from its Community
Naples Pride is a small, grassroots nonprofit—serving its community with limited resources—and now Naples Pride is being forced to shoulder the financial burden for the government’s responsibility to protect both public safety and free expression.
These discriminatory security fees don’t just threaten Pride Festival—they directly harm the lifesaving work Naples Pride does every day.
“Every dollar diverted to pay for politically motivated censorship is a dollar taken away from LGBTQ+ people in need. We provide free mental health counseling, support groups, health services, homelessness prevention, emergency funds, and more. These are critical, lifesaving services that go directly to the people in our community who need them most. The City should be helping us provide these services—not making it harder to reach the people who depend on them.”
Cori Craciun, Executive Director, Naples Pride
This Affects Everyone
What’s happening in Naples is part of a broader movement to silence marginalized voices under the guise of “public safety” or “decency.” But when those in power pick and choose whose expression is protected, democracy is at risk. Naples Pride won’t stand for it
READ THE COMPLAINT HERE
Re: Public Statement from Naples Pride After Naples City Council’s 1/15/25 Vote to Approve the 2025 Naples Pride Festival with Limitations
1/16/25
Naples City Council's Vote and Imposed Limitations on Pride Festival
While the Naples, Florida City Council voted 5-2 to approve the 2025 Naples Pride Festival on June 7 in Cambier Park, we are saddened that the five council members who voted in favor of the event also imposed a caveat: drag performances must occur indoors, in the dark, and be restricted to 18+ audiences. Additionally, they refused to negotiate the excessive fees for hosting the event.
Rather than defer to the Naples Police Department’s expert opinion that the Naples Pride Festival, including drag performances on Cambier’s main stage in the center of Cambier Park, could be safely held under their security plan based on nationwide standards and best practices, the City still refused to allow it.
Issues with Security Fees and Viewpoint Discrimination
Additionally, the City has declined to negotiate the exorbitant security fees of $30,600, the quote given to us to host the drag show inside. Yesterday, Naples Pride demonstrated how the Supreme Court case Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement struck down an ordinance that allowed fees to vary based on crowd reactions or subjective criteria like perceived security needs. The Court ruled that such discretion enables viewpoint discrimination and amounts to a "heckler’s veto,” where hostile audiences suppress speech by driving up costs. The ruling established two key principles: (1) Fees cannot be tied to content or public reaction, and (2) governments must ensure public safety without penalizing speakers.
Here, Naples Pride is being asked to pay for hostility toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity, which is a textbook example of viewpoint discrimination—essentially placing a "price tag" on free speech.
The NPD has stated that one criterion for determining security fees is the "potential for conflict or protests" based on “political” or “controversial” issues. While we agree that this is necessary to ensure the safety of our event, we believe that, under the Forsyth County ruling, passing this specific portion of the fees onto us constitutes viewpoint discrimination and violates our free speech rights. We will continue to request that City Council remove the fees associated with this specific piece of criteria from the fees imposed on Naples Pride. While we are dismayed that the burden of this portion of the security fees may fall back on the City, we cannot, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, divert funds from our mission to serve our community to cover a portion of the security fees that the law states the City does not have the right to pass onto us.
Naples Pride’s Commitment to Fair Security Fees
Naples Pride understands that fees are rising for all events, and we want to make it clear that we are committed to paying our fair share of the security fees based on objective, legal criteria that all other City special events are subject to, such as venue size, location, expected crowd size, and event particulars (e.g., time of day, alcohol, street closures, etc.).
Balancing public safety with First Amendment rights is undoubtedly challenging, but it is vital Naples City Council protect both to uphold democracy. However, by tying fees to anticipated crowd responses, such as potential protests over controversial issues, the City shifts its responsibility to maintain neutrality and fairness onto the speaker. This makes the ability to express free speech contingent on the popularity of the message or the speaker's ability to pay for potential disruption.
Why is Drag so Important to Naples Pride?
We long for the days when we hosted our festival with drag performances on stage and no protests, but sadly, that is not the reality of the world we live in—one that Naples Pride is working to change.
From 2017 to 2022, Naples Pride held its annual festival with family-friendly drag performances on Cambier Park’s main stage. Two years ago, a Florida law forced us to move the drag show indoors, but now that the law has been ruled unconstitutional, we are working to reinstate outdoor performances once again. We are changing the format from 2023-2024 because the law has changed. Unfortunately, we were not successful yesterday.
Naples Pride promises that one day we will celebrate again in Cambier Park with family-friendly drag on stage. As with many social issues, acceptance takes time, and while it did not happen this year, we believe the misinformation surrounding drag will eventually be cleared up, and it will be embraced as a vital part of Pride. Sadly, that day is not today in Naples.
Somewhere along the way, the importance of drag in our Pride Festival seems to have been lost to City Council. Drag performances aren’t just for entertainment; they’re a core part of Pride’s history. Drag performers were central to the first Pride event in 1970, a protest police brutality toward the LGBTQ+ community. That’s why we include drag in our festival—it’s integral to the spirit of Pride. Excluding drag erodes the values of authenticity, visibility, and the freedom to express oneself without fear of discrimination. Whether people attend, or parents bring their children to a drag show should be their choice.
We also asked City Council to consider whether their views on drag were shaped by misrepresentation or bias. In 2023, several government agencies investigated our drag performances and found them not harmful to children under the law. Unfortunately, the City Council chose to let its subjective views overshadow this objective information.
The sad truth is that drag is controversial largely because of the gender identity of the performers, which, in some cases, is expressed only during the performance. Many who oppose drag do so because they reject the idea that someone can be born one gender and, whether during a performance or in life, choose to express themselves as another. This opposition reflects a broader denial of transgender existences and strikes at the very core of what Naples Pride stands for and fights to protect.
Next Steps for Naples Pride
Naples Pride will take City Council’s decision—limiting our Pride Festival on June 7, 2025, to drag performances hidden away, for adults only, and burdened with excessive security fees—back to our board and supporters to decide whether we should continue with the event in this format. We invite our supporters to share your thoughts with us at info@naplespride.org. We will share our decision as soon as one is reached.
Thank you for standing with us as we continue our journey toward equality and understanding.
Sincerely,
Naples Pride