Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023

Tags

Bigotry, bigots, City Council, LGBTQIA+, missouri, pearl clutching, Pride Festival, Warresnburg

“…[turning to the gallery] So many times I cannot hear the words of love you are professing because your actions are too loud…”

A group billing themselves as Johnson County Citizens for the Protection of Children is still up in arms about the Warrensburg Pride Festival scheduled for June 3, 2023. There will be drag shows on the program. You know, fancy costumes, theatrical makeup, show tunes. This is nothing new. There were Pride Festivals in Warrensburg in 2021 and 2022.

These right wingnut busybodies had organized on-line to present a petition to the Warrensburg City Council during the public comment portion of the City Council’s evening meeting on April 24th to limit or cancel the Pride Festival. A loosely organized group of LGBTQIA+ allies organized on-line to speak in support of the Pride Festival.

The pearl clutching busybodies returned to last night’s City Council to demand an ordinance banning drag shows in Warrensburg, this time with photos on posterboard. In the period between the two council meetings the producers of the Pride Festival had already changed the festival format to 18 years of age and older due to reported threats against the festival and the venue. A similar group of LGBTQIA+ allies attended and signed in to speak in support of the Pride Festival and against a city ordinance.

This time there were about fifty individuals in the city council chamber gallery.

The portion of the meeting for public comment was again prefaced by a brief explanation of the ground rules. Individuals who signed up for public comment were allotted three minutes, with a city official acting as the timer. Speakers were asked to state their name and address. Some did, some didn’t.

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Update:

The series.

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023 – part 2 (May 9, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023 – part 3 (May 9, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023 – part 4 (May 9, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023 – part 5 (May 10, 2023)
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The first speaker was on the meeting agenda.

…I appreciate the chance to speak to you as a city council. I am a Johnson County central committee [political party] member, a wife, a mother, a grandma, a christian, and a very concerned citizen of Johnson County. Let me ask you a few questions. Do you want Warrensburg to be known as a safe community for families and children? [….] But are we really thinking about the long-term consequences of allowing drag shows and their perversion into our town. Uh. how important is the safety of our kids’ souls? I’m a mom and a teacher so I am very in tune with children. If you’re not thinking about long-term, how this would affect our community, I would encourage you to do that. You’ve been entrusted to protect Warrensburg citizens and provide day-to-day public service. This includes protecting our children and I understand that you are in a challenging position. But now you have a chance a decision that will impact children and generations of young people for years to come and our community. I am requesting that you as the city council would consider two points today. One, to protect the children. And, two, I’m requesting a city ordinance to ban all drag queen shows to protect the children, now and in the future, and all public areas, libraries included. Missouri senator Rick Brattin [r], District 31, sent a letter to the Warrensburg chief of police and the police department April the 21st, sharing several Missouri laws that prohibit these activities. And to be truthful, I didn’t even know there were this many laws against sexual, uh, deviance with children. But I am, uh, now understanding that there are Missouri laws, there’s federal laws [….] And I really do propose that having these drag queen shows in our community is illegal and it does psychological damage to our children. It’s known as grooming. And as you can see with these signs [posters], uh, this is pictures from last year’s drag show here in Warrensburg [….] Uh, they have drag queens that are stripping in front of children. I get chills just thinking about this. I cannot believe this is where we are at in our society. So I am encouraging you guys to stand strong, don’t cave into political pressure. But, where would this ever be okay, to strip in front of children? Thank you.

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Sure. “…ban all drag queen shows…”

Rick Brattin (r) is the pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the law in the State of Missouri, said no one ever.

Rick Brattin (r) [2013 file photo].

Stripping? Uh, you do know what drag actually is, right?

“…I cannot believe this is where we are at in our society…” Ditto, but for much different reasons.

The busybodies had more individuals who signed up to speak, and they were, for the most part, at the top of the sign-up list.

…So, I know a lot of people…So, my purpose in telling you all that is to let you all know I know a lot of people around town. Uh, and since the last city council meeting two weeks ago I have been approached by a lot of citizens who were made aware of the drag show from the article in the paper. Um, they didn’t know about the all ages drag show until that information came out. A hundred percent of the people I spoke to were absolutely against a drag show for kids. Now, while I don’t mean that as any threat, I do mean to report that many of them said that the council was to allow this drag show for kids to continue they would certainly remember that come the next election. From what I learned the silent majority is not gonna remain silent on this issue. So, I want to make it clear to the council that when people spoke at the last council meeting it was misinterpreted that we were against the drag show. That’s not true. Personally, I have nothing against someone performing for adults. But, when you consider the age of the kids, please keep in mind I can’t send my underage kids to buy alcohol, they can’t buy cigarettes, they can’t drive, and they sure can’t attend an R rated movie. All these rules put in place to protect the kids. So why should an all ages drag show be any different? In closing my recommendation to this council would be to implement an ordinance against allowing an all ages drag show in the future. If people want a drag show for kids they can do that in the privacy of their own home. Thank you very much.

(audio edited)
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The plural of anecdote is not data. And, if you don’t live within the city limits you don’t get to vote in city council elections.

“…while I don’t mean that as any threat..” Yes, yes you do.

“…So, I want to make it clear to the council that when people spoke at the last council meeting it was misinterpreted that we were against the drag show…” Uh, no, that was quite clear.

Missouri has graduated drivers license starting at age 15, when accompanied by a parent.

A rated movie? A parent or guardian can accompany their child to a movie.

“,..If people want a drag show for kids they can do that in the privacy of their own home…” You mean like on private property? Interesting. Wait, if you really believe it’s illegal then it’s illegal everywhere.

…I was thankful to learn that the drag show scheduled for June 3rd is now an eighteen and over only event. I wish their decision to limit the event to adults could be the end of this affair. I’m sure you all hope for the same thing. It is clear from their statement that they intend to try again in the future to bring an all ages event back to Warrensburg. I never again want to see photos of children in our community holding up dollars for drag queens like patrons at a strip club posted on social media. More importantly, I want to insure that the children of our city are never exposed to such environments in the first place. And I know that I’m not alone in that hope. In speaking with our state senator, Rick Brattin [r][…] I urge you to act quickly. Doing so will add additional support to our great police. And, most importantly, protect the children of Warrensburg and surrounding communities from these highly sexualized and inappropriate performances in the future…

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“…I wish their decision to limit the event to adults could be the end of this affair…” Well?

“…holding up dollars…” Never heard of tips? Busking?

“…like patrons at a strip club…” How would anyone know?

Again, Rick Brattin (r) is the pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the law in the State of Missouri, said no one ever.

…Judge righteously…

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Well?

…My husband and I are new to the area. And, um, you could only imagine my shock and dismay at learning that the past two years there’s been a drag queen performance that included children, um, being invited to it, encouraged to come to it. Uh, advertised as being appropriate for children and families. I couldn’t disagree with something like that more…

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“…you could only imagine my shock and dismay…” Don’t need to. You’re telling us.

“…advertised as being appropriate for children and families…” And it was.

“…I couldn’t disagree with something like that more…” Yet you weren’t there because, you know, you’re new to the area.

Maybe ask for an ordinance where you actually live? Just to see how that works.

(personal information omitted)
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…So I guess we’re quoting the bible. But, I don’t know if we’re paying attention to them ten commandments where it tells you not to bear false witness. Lady stood up here, at least she didn’t call me pedophile this time, that said that there was stripping going on. None of the performers took off any clothes. I understand you, you folks in the audience, look at those pictures and say, oh that’s terrible, I don’t want that for my child. I would again tell you, not your child, I think it should be legal.

But it doesn’t matter because we had some people with guns make threats. People talking about building bombs, blowing up the Elks. So we have decided to make it, what the folks here said was gonna be okay with them, just a pride event, a drag show with no kids, eighteen and over. But yet we’re still here talking about it.

Thank you very much.

…I thought I wouldn’t be here today because I thought that the goal from last time was to have an adults only drag show. And because of concerns about the safety of performers and attendees that’s what’s happening now.

Um, I’ve heard a lot about biblical reasons not to have drag shows. Um, the legal reasons I’m a little iffier on. [….]

One of my biggest concerns about the bible being used is, um, as a legal argument, is a phrase that was recently used about the issue, that says, I don’t think we have the command to kill anyone. I hope that nobody thinks that the bible has told them that they need to kill people who are supporting our LGBTQ people. Um, and I’d hope that we’d move on to something that is actually harmful to kids.[….]

What bothers me more than anything else in this is that LBGTQ young people are four times more likely to attempt suicide. And these are the children who deserve to be proud of who they are. Because I was raised to believe that god made me who I am. And I cannot imagine that same god wants me to kill myself because people in my community can’t accept who I am. Thank you.