Photo by Rob Maxwell on Unsplash
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Controversy has exploded just outside Dallas-Fort Worth following a city council’s sudden and unexplained decision to refuse an event permit to a local LGBTQ Pride festival. Now, organizers plan to fight what they say looks like an overt act of discrimination.
“Southlake City Council voted unanimously to deny Pride Kel-So’s mass gathering permit — no questions asked, no concerns raised, no reason given. Not a single word of explanation. Just a clean, silent no,” organizers posted to Facebook over the weekend.
However, they offered a message of defiance. “This may feel like a message of ‘you don’t belong here,’ but the thing is, we absolutely do,” the statement read. “We’re not going away, we’re pivoting and bringing more joy to the community.”
The event is a combined celebration for the towns of Keller and Southlake. It was to be hosted at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church, but because of the event’s size and scale, organizers needed a mass-gathering permit from local officials.
The event, originally slated for Oct. 3, will be moved to April, and a smaller event will be held on the original October date instead.
“We’re using the extra runway to fight the city’s decision and come back stronger - legally, financially, and with a community that’s more fired up than ever,” organizers said.
During the Council’s Sept. 15 meeting, they held what was expected to be a perfunctory vote. A member of the church came to speak in support of the event, and someone else came to testify against it, apparently due to concerns about counterprotests, a local TV station reports.
To the shock of organizers, the vote came back unanimous—against allowing the festival a permit this year.
Even more, after the city denied their permit, several sponsors of the event reportedly pulled out. Organizers are currently looking for replacements to help fund the celebration.
“There is no explanation for the city councils [sic] vote other than pure discrimination against a group of people,” organizers wrote.
Generally speaking, a government body denying a permit for a gathering because of objections to the viewpoints it might express is considered a violation of organizers’ First Amendment rights. However, organizers have not announced intentions to sue the Council over the vote.
For now, they remain laser-focused on planning more LGBTQ community events.
“Somewhere in Keller or Southlake, there’s a queer kid sitting in their room right now, trying to figure out if this town has a place for them,” organizers said. “And there’s a quiet neighbor — maybe a parent, maybe a teacher, maybe someone who’s never set foot at a Pride event, watching what happens next and deciding whether to speak up or stay silent. This is for them.”
The full announcement from Pride Kel-So is can be found here.
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