City tries to ban Pride events, gets slapped with $500,000 fine instead
Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.In late 2022, conservatives in the city expressed outrage that drag queens performed at the event.
They went so far as saying the performances resulted in the “illegal sexualization of kids.” Pride organizers said the drag performers were clothed and did nothing inappropriate.Last June, city officials updated Murfreesboro’s “community decency standards”.
These “assist in the determination of conduct, materials, and events that may be judged as obscene or harmful to minors.”Although it did not specifically mention “homosexuality”, the ordinance referenced 21-72 of the city code, which categorizes homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct.The city also stated it would not grant any future permits to the Tennessee Equality Project.That prompted the Tennessee Equality Project to team up with the American Civil Liberties Union to take legal action.
They launched a federal lawsuit. They argued the city was discriminating against the LGBTQ+ community and violating the First Amendment.The ACLU first got a judge to put a temporary block on the city’s new ordinance last October.
