"San Antonio recently unveiled new rainbow sidewalks in its Pride heritage district to replace the rainbow crosswalks that city workers removed in January, following anti-LGBTQ+ orders from the Trump administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Local residents had expressed disappointment towards the city's first out lesbian Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones"
"The removal of San Antonio's rainbow crosswalks - which were originally installed in 2018 with nearly $19,000 in privately raised donations from the help of the local nonprofit Pride San Antonio - was carried out by city workers under pressure from Trump and Gov. Abbott's administrations. In July 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged governors to remove any political messages, artwork, and markings on intersections not directly related to pedestrian or driver safety. He disingenuously claimed that rainbow crosswalks threaten driver safety."
"Then, last October 8, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order directing the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to remove "any and all political ideologies" from streets across the state. Both Trump and Abbott pledged to withhold government funding from any states and municipalities, respectively, that refused to remove their rainbow crosswalks. San Antonio had originally sought an exemption from Abbott's order by contacting TxDOT."
San Antonio unveiled new rainbow sidewalks in its Pride heritage district to replace rainbow crosswalks removed in January after anti-LGBTQ+ orders from the Trump administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Local activists and residents were disappointed in elected leaders for not resisting the removals. Out City Councilwoman Sukh Kaur led the rainbow sidewalk project with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' assistance to maintain a visibly queer district. The original rainbow crosswalks were installed in 2018 with nearly $19,000 in privately raised donations with Pride San Antonio's help and were removed by city workers under federal and state pressure. Federal and state officials urged removal of political markings and threatened funding consequences.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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