Current:Home > ScamsEthermac|LGBTQ pride group excluded from southwest Iowa town’s Labor Day parade -VisionFunds
Ethermac|LGBTQ pride group excluded from southwest Iowa town’s Labor Day parade
Ethermac Exchange View
Date:2025-04-06 12:27:23
A local LGBTQ pride group was excluded from a southwest Iowa town’s Labor Day parade,Ethermac apparently by the city’s mayor, who cited safety concerns.
Shenandoah Pride planned to have a small group walking with a banner and a drag performer riding in a convertible, with candy, popsicles and stickers to hand out in the parade in Essex, Iowa, said Jessa Bears, a founding member of the group. The parade is part of a four-day festival in Essex, which has about 720 residents.
Ryan Fuller, who planned to ride in the convertible as his drag identity Cherry Peaks, said he received an email Thursday from the parade’s organizer notifying him of the decision.
Fuller told The Associated Press Essex Mayor Calvin Kinney spearheaded the decision, with no motions or city council vote. Council Member Heather Thornton, who disagreed with the move, said “it was the mayor himself,” and added she was told he had the authority and didn’t need a council vote.
Kinney did not immediately respond to an email from the AP regarding the decision. The AP’s phone calls to City Attorney Mahlon Sorensen went unanswered.
Bears said the decision left her feeling “really shocked and angry, then just very sad and motivated to get the word out,” she told the AP. “This ban has done more for our visibility than the parade alone ever would have.”
Shenandoah Pride sought to be in the parade to “let people know there is a queer community in southwest Iowa that they can be a part of,” Bears said.
The groups that organized the festivities “fully supported their efforts and (are) just as upset as everyone else that they were excluded,” said Thornton, who is on the board of the club that had unanimously allowed the pride group to join the parade.
The ACLU of Iowa sent the city attorney a letter Saturday urging the city to let the group participate. The letter included a Thursday email from the mayor that cited safety of the public and parade participants in not allowing “parade participants geared toward the promotion of, or opposition to, the politically charged topic of gender and/or sexual identification/orientation.” Thornton said she knew of no threats.
Despite the parade decision, Shenandoah Pride does have a vendor booth at the festival.
Fuller said community members offered their yard as space for group members to watch the parade, and some people planned to wear pride shirts in the parade to show solidarity.
The group canceled its convertible for the parade, he said. “An apology would sure be nice,” Fuller added.
veryGood! (65)
Related
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Michelle Pfeiffer joins 'Yellowstone' universe in spinoff 'The Madison' after Kevin Costner drama
- Jelly Roll’s Wife Bunnie XO Faced “Death Scare” After Misdiagnosed Aneurysm
- Missouri man dies illegally BASE jumping at Grand Canyon National Park; parachute deployed
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- ‘Alien: Romulus’ actors battled lifelike creatures to bring the film back to its horror roots
- 1000-Lb. Sisters' Tammy Slaton Shares Glimpse at Hair Transformation
- Baby’s body found by worker at South Dakota recycling center
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Dead woman found entangled in baggage machinery at Chicago airport
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Pregnant Brittany Mahomes Trolls Patrick Mahomes Over Wardrobe Mishap
- The Ultimate Guide to Microcurrent Therapy for Skin: Benefits and How It Works (We Asked an Expert)
- 2024 Olympics: Swimmers Are Fighting Off Bacteria From Seine River by Drinking Coca-Cola
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Taylor Swift cancels Vienna Eras tour concerts after two arrested in alleged terror plot
- Serbian athlete dies in Texas CrossFit competition, reports say
- 'Chef Curry' finally finds his shot and ignites USA basketball in slim victory over Serbia
Recommendation
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
A father lost his son to sextortion swindlers. He helped the FBI find the suspects
Snake hunters will wrangle invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades during Florida’s 10-day challenge
PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day Thursday August 8, 2024
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
See first look at Travis Kelce hosting 'Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?'
Iranian brothers charged in alleged smuggling operation that led to deaths of 2 Navy SEALs
Flood damage outpaces some repairs in hard-hit Vermont town