4 March 6-12, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ SUNSHINE STATE HERE COME THE MORALITY POLICE FLORIDA SUES TARGET OVER 2023 LGBTQ PRIDE MERCH. BY ALEX DELUCA F lorida is suing the Target Corpora- tion for allegedly “defrauding inves- tors” over the sale of LGBTQ Pride merchandise, which sparked con- servative boycotts a few years ago. In May 2023, Target became the (for lack of a better word) target of right-wing outrage when it launched its annual Pride Month col- lection. The merchandise featured clothing items for transgender customers, including T-shirts with slogans like “Trans People Will Always Exist!” and “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People.” Anti-LGBTQ groups and conservative ac- tivists fueled the backlash against the retailer, spreading misinformation — for instance, that Target was marketing a product to chil- dren that was meant for transgender adults — and organizing boycotts that quickly escalated into people harassing and threaten- ing store employees. Now Florida Attorney General James Uth- meier has filed suit, alleging the retailer of “not properly disclosing to investors the risk” of its “offensive” 2023 LGBTQ Pride cam- paign, ultimately causing the retailer’s stock price to plummet. In a 163-page lawsuit filed in federal court last week, the State Board of Administration, which manages Florida’s pension fund and other investments, alleges that Target — which it describes as the “self-proclaimed store of the ‘boomer mom who drives a mini- van and lives in the suburbs’” — “betrayed” its core customer base of “working families and investors” by “making false and misleading statements about Target’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates that led to its disastrous 2023 children-and-family themed LGBT-Pride campaign.” “The campaign provoked immense con- sumer backlash and boycotts that caused Tar- get’s sales to fall for the first time in six years and wiped out over $25 billion in Target’s market capitalization — leading Target’s stock to experience its longest losing streak in 23 years,” the lawsuit (a PDF of which is at- tached at the bottom of this story) alleges. The suit is the latest in a series of GOP-led legal challenges to corporate DEI initiatives. It’s also one of at least three similar cases against Target in Florida, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. As noted in a recent analysis piece by Rea- son magazine senior editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown, this particular suit against the retailer runs contrary to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “You’re probably thinking: Wait, doesn’t the First Amendment stop the government from doing things like this? Doesn’t Target have a First Amendment right to sell goods broadcasting whatever perfectly legal mes- sages it chooses, and don’t individual Ameri- cans have a First Amendment right to access those messages?” writes Brown. “The an- swer is a resounding: of course. But Florida authorities don’t seem to care, so long as they get to perform concern for children.” In a post on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter, Ari Cohn, lead counsel for tech policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), called Florida’s lawsuit “asinine, performative buffoonery and an attack on the First Amendment.” In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) Cohn noted that Florida is objecting to products “based on the messages they convey — all of which are First Amendment– protected, and none of which ‘sexualize children.’” “It’s beyond question that these expressive items are protected, as is Target’s decision to sell them,” Cohn continued. “That Florida’s retirement fund holds shares of Target is ir- relevant and meaningless. Government does not gain the power to regulate speech be- cause it’s a shareholder.” Added Cohn: “If Florida doesn’t like Tar- get’s expressive decisions, it can sell its shares. But it can’t impose liability.” Formerly chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSan- tis, Uthmeier announced the lawsuit against Target just three days into his new job. The governor appointed him to replace Ashley Moody, whom he’d appointed to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio after President Donald Trump tapped Rubio as Secretary of State in his new administration. [email protected] | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Florida is suing Target for allegedly “defrauding investors” by selling LGBTQ-themed merchandise as part of its 2023 Pride Month collection. Photo by MelissaMN/Adobe Stock ▼ BRICKELL THAT’S MIGHTY NEIGHBORLY OF US! A “STUDY” RANKS BRICKELL THE SEVENTH-FRIENDLIEST NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE USA. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN J ournalists at New Times are constantly bombarded with surveys and “studies” that are typically tied to a particular prod- uct, then left to discern the reports’ legitimacy and determine if they are just flimsy public rela- tions tactics. Earlier this month, a “study” wound up in South Florida journalists’ email inboxes, declar- ing Brickell one of the friendliest neighborhoods in the U.S., and three popular Miami Instagram accounts decided to run with it. “This Miami neighborhood is apparently one of the friendliest in the U.S.,” TimeOut Miami posted on Instagram. Soon thereafter, Only in Dade and World Red Eye followed with posts of their own about Brickell supposedly falling into America’s top ten friendliest cities. Miami social media users were floored by Brickell’s placement on the list, especially con- sidering that an August 2024 study ranked Magic City as a whole the rudest city in the U.S. Comments were as follows: “Who paid for this .” “Not accurate. Not even a little bit accurate...” “That is ridiculous. I worked in Brickell almost the first two years I lived in Miami. It is snobby AF.” “TOTAL BS.” Like other Miamians, New Times wanted to know how exactly Brickell earned the distinction of the seventh friendliest neighborhood in the entire United States. Hastha Kalalu, an online Indian crafts store based in rural Massachusetts, conducted the study, which crunched data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow, and analyzed violent crime rates. The specific data points that the study used for each neighborhood were its population, area in square miles, density, percentage of family households, median household income, average house value, violent crime rates per 1,000 resi- dents, the cost of living, and home daily views. The study utilized the information to compute a “friendliness” score for dozens of neighborhoods. New Times wondered, alongside Florida International University mathematics and statistics professor Sneh Gulati, “How exactly do these data points indicate a [neighborhood]’s level of friendliness?” “The question is what is the definition of friendly,” Gulati tells New Times. “Okay, vi- olent crime is one of them so that neighbor- hood doesn’t have too much violent crime. The cost of living is low. I imagine it’s friendly. But what about the rest? Population density. I mean to me, unless there’s a study that backs up these factors. I don’t know how they are jus- tifying it.” Gulati, who maintains that she is just a statis- tician not a social scientist, says it is unclear how the data correlates, given that there is no pub- lished and peer-reviewed paper that measures friendliness. “What’s the definition of friendly, right? For me, it might be, I have loads of neighbors that I can be friends with or I know that they’re there when I need them. That’s a friendly neighbor- hood,” she adds. “Yes, I want low crime, but that, to me, is more like a safe neighborhood than a friendly neighborhood.” Well, for what it is worth, Maryvale, Arizona, which came in eighth on the list, is known for its gang violence and crime. Just look at the r/phoe- nix subreddit to get a feel for the area. “It has been the worst living experience I have ever had,” a Reddit user wrote. “Roosters crow- ing ALL day (against city code), loud music at night till two to three a.m. that shakes the walls. Extremely loud vehicles driving by at high speeds all day, very disrespectful neighbors, and the gunshot lullabies every night.” Maryvale sounds so welcoming and friendly! [email protected] “THE QUESTION IS: WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF FRIENDLY?”
