Posted on by Randy Slovacek

Mayor Breaks Tie Vote To Allow Franklin Pride Festival To Proceed

The Tennessee suburb of Franklin will have a Pride festival this year after Mayor Ken Moore broke a tie vote on approving a permit to hold the event in a public park.
(image via Facebook/FranklinPride)

The Tennessee suburb of Franklin will have a Pride festival this year after Mayor Ken Moore broke a tie vote on approving a permit to hold the event in a public park.

Since Franklin held its first Pride festival two years ago, obtaining a permit to use a public park for the event has been a non-issue. Last year, the event’s permit was approved 8-0 and the city has never denied a permit.

But this year, with severe anti-LGBTQ laws being passed in the state, anti-LGBTQ folks showed up to voice their opposition to allowing the event to be held in a public park again.

From Newsweek:

A handful of community members had pleaded with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) to block the event’s permit, claiming that Pride festivals are intended to “groom” children. 

Prior to Tuesday’s vote, Franklin City Hall was again filled with dozens of community members, many of whom used passages from the Bible to urge the BOMA to vote against the Franklin Pride permit.

Other residents said they believed the event should take place in a private venue since it was “sexual” in nature, and that last year’s Pride festival had violated community standards for minors who were in attendance.

A handful of people in support of Franklin Pride were also in the crowd, including the event’s president, Clayton Klutts, who said that many of the festival’s detractors “were not in attendance” during last year’s event. Klutts added that “they have somehow reimagined it to be a very different event than what was actually held.”

In the end, the mayor told the crowd that he was voting in favor of the Pride event to give a “lifeline” to the festival. But that was quickly followed by a warning that the event would be under tight scrutiny to ensure it complies with public decency standards.

Read the full article here.

Check out some of the statement’s made by the anti-queer folks below. I especially love the woman who says “we don’t hate you, we love you – I have friends who are gay.”

What’s clear is none of the haters have ever been near a Pride festival. They’re spouting things they’ve imagined or read somewhere, but the stuff they’re bringing up doesn’t happen.