A bill proposed by Republican State Sen. Randy Fine would ban politically charged flags such as the Black Lives Matters emblem from being displayed in public places. STOCK PHOTO

Miami – A proposed bill to ban politically charged flags from being displayed in public places has been refiled for the upcoming Florida Legislative Session in Tallahassee, targeting the Black and LGBTQ+ communities as well as Palestinian protesters.

Republican State Sen. Randy Fine, who resigned to run for Congress, filed the bill to ban flags promoting Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ rights and support for Palestine from being exposed in public places including schools, state universities and local government offices.

“Supporters of Muslim terror, child mutilators, and groomers have no right to taxpayer sponsorship of their repugnant messages,” Fine said in a news release Monday. “As I prepare to leave the Senate, I look forward to ensuring the only official place in a government building that you will find their flags is in a garbage can.”

Fine, from Melbourne, said his bill would prohibit any government entity, including cities, counties, schools, colleges, universities and agencies, from displaying any flag of a political nature, including flags about race, gender and sexual orientation, political parties, candidates, and political ideologies.

The bill also says the U.S. flag must be displayed more prominently than any other flag.

CONTINUED FROM 1A Cities in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties would be impacted, as they currently display the LGBTQ+ Pride Month flag and Black Lives Matter Flag.

BLM is a decentralized political and social movement that aims to bring awareness to racism, discrimination and racial inequality in the African American community.

The movement was launched in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Rekia Boyd.

The movement grew after the death of George Floyd in Minnesota at the hands of police officers.

As of 2021, there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada.

Jon Harris Maurer with the group Equality Florida spoke against the measure.

“It is unclear because it purports to be about political viewpoints, but we have heard that it is in fact targeting sexual orientation and gender identity, which we know is about identity, not politics,” Maurer says in a press release.

Fine’s bill could be a violation of the First Amendment rights.

But he said it only limits flags in public places; they can still hang on private properties.

Orlando Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who became the first openly gay Latin person in the Legislature in 2016, said Fine’s proposed flag ban bill should take a back seat to more important issues Floridians are facing including high property insurance rates, teacher shortage and fighting climate change.

“I am exhausted having to respond to these ridiculous bills people like Randy Fine keep filing instead of solving the real problems Floridians are facing,” Smith told the Orlando Sentinel.

Smith and Sen. Shervin Jones of West Park are the only two openly gay lawmakers in the Senate. Jones didn’t respond to an interview request.

Fine filed a similar bill in 2024 but it never advanced in the Senate; a House Committee approved it along party lines with Democrats opposing it.

Fine has filed two other contentious bills for the 2025 session including eliminating in-state tuition for undocumented students who attended a Florida high school for three years.

The other would lower the purchasing age for rifles from 21 to 18.

Fine will participate in half the Legislative Session.

He’s running for District 6 to replace U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-St. Augustine, who has accepted the post of national security advisor with the incoming Trump administration.