Congress shall make no law... the right of the people peaceably to assemble...

The First Amendment, you know the one, the one the Republicans keep reciting that they think only applies to them.

Pride organizers keep eye on drag laws ahead of festivals

AP News

By Susan Haigh and Pat Eaton-Robb

May 5, 2023

Tennessee organizers booked more than 50 drag entertainers for next month’s Midsouth Pride festival in Memphis now that the state’s new law placing strict limits on cabaret shows is temporarily on hold.

But they are being cautious, making adjustments to performances should the limits of the first-in-the-nation law essentially banning drag from public property or in the presence of minors kick in before June celebrations.

“As soon as this stuff started making its way, I immediately started coming out with plans to be able to counteract that,” said longtime festival organizer Vanessa Rodley. “Because, at the end of the day, we can’t put on an event that then segregates a huge portion of our community, right? We just can’t do that. So you have to find ways around it.”

“… the right of the people peaceably to assemble ...”

Organizers of Pride festivals and parades in mostly conservative states where there’s been a broader push targeting LGBTQ+ rights have been under increasing pressure to censor their events. They’re taking steps like editing acts and canceling drag shows in order to still hold their annual celebrations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identity in today’s contentious climate.

Pride events are going on around the country as scheduled in Blue states, we are having almost a dozen Pride events here in Connecticut, major Pride centers are holding large multi-day Pride events while smaller ones will be held on town greens all around the state.

“They’re attacking these people because they’re less likely to stand up and fight back, which is why it’s important that we all come together in solidarity and speak up when we see these injustices,” she said.

Why do we have a Puerto Rico parade? Why do we have an Irish parade? Why do we have a Columbus Day parade? The answer is very simple. It is because all of these groups at one time were oppressed communities. Which is why we don’t have a straight parade. 

The Pride festival in Hutchinson, Kansas, has also adjusted its program and secured a new venue after losing its original one when a local business owner posted a video on social media decrying the event, which included a drag queen story hour, as depraved.

“Our event is completely family friendly,” said Hutchinson Salt City Pride chair Julia Johnson.

Meanwhile, organizers in the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Franklin, opted not to include drag performances in their Pride celebrations so they can work with local officials to get other events permitted.

All of these are the result of oppression! These laws are an infringement on our First Amendment rights of Assembly. The states have passed laws prohibiting our other First Amendment right of “... abridging the freedom of speech …” by banning drag queens.

In Naples, Florida, Pride organizers agreed they wouldn’t allow drag performers to be tipped on stage, and later announced that the drag show portion of its festival will be held at an indoor venue because of safety concerns.

Why are there safety concerns, we demand the same protection by the police that other organization have when they peacefully assemble to “… redress of grievances ...”

The article ends with an eye opener. One of the purposes of Pride is to educate.

Support for the community is also making a difference. In Iowa, the Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green, this week reversed his controversial decision not to sign a proclamation declaring June as Pride Month. He wrote on Facebook that he signed the proclamation out of concern for the safety and health of LGBTQIA+ residents after hearing stories and receiving letters from constituents.

“I learn a lot from these kind of letters and very much appreciate the opportunity to re-examine my assumptions and thought processes,” he wrote.

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The AP article also mentioned…

Backlash against transgender individuals, drag performances and Pride events is not new. Last year, 31 members of a white supremacist group were arrested near an Idaho Pride event after they were found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear.

And that is one of the major concerns not only at Pride events, but at nightclubs and other places where we gather.

Armed Ohio Neo-Nazis Waving Swastika Flags Target Drag Event Again

The same Ohio neo-Nazi group that attacked a Drag Queen Story Hour event in March menaced a drag brunch in the state on Saturday.

The Advocate

By Christopher Wiggins

May 2 2023

It has happened once again. On a Saturday afternoon in Ohio, neo-Nazis displaying swastikas and chanting neo-Nazi slogans threatened people with their flags and chants while at a drag brunch.

For the second time in as many months, neo-Nazi white supremacist skinhead Christopher Pohlhaus led his group, Blood Tribe, to protest LGBTQ-affirming events.

As part of the drag brunch event, Land Grant Brewing Company in Columbus hosted a fundraiser for Kaleidoscope Youth Center, an Ohio-based organization dedicated to providing safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in the community, according to local TV station WBNS.

As the affair started, a group of about two dozen right-wing extremists, some chanting and waving Swastika flags, protested the event, videos posted online show.

[…]

The group held a banner reading “There will be blood,” behind which they performed Nazi salutes while chanting about “no transgenders on our streets” and other bigoted sentiments.

[…]

Among the neo-Nazi group members was at least one who wore tactical gear and carried an AR-15-style rifle.

My worries are that someone at one of these events will pull the trigger and a massacre of our community will ensue.