“…either everyone is welcome in Warrensburg, or no one is…”

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 Monday 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.

More of the public comments:

…Again, thank you for allowing me to speak today. I’ll try to keep it short this time, I wrote this stuff down. Um, we’ve heard a lot of talk about safety and protecting children. But, I, I have to ask, does that include my kids? Are you gonna protect my kids when they get harassed for being gay, walking down the street. Because that does happen.

I want to make a point that making it 18+ is not an admittance that it was wrong or something inappropriate was happening. This means that the people who put it on took into account the threats they were receiving and decided to make it a, a decision basically out of safety.

Um, I would encourage the council to reach out to those businesses, publicize a point of contact to those businesses to contact you to know how they were being harassed, how they were being threatened.

Um, basically in my opinion a ban is a solution in search of a problem. We don’t have an epidemic of drag shows happening in this town. And so, I don’t know why a ban would be really necessary.

We even considered, uh, organizing an LGBTQ family event, just for families, not including any drag performers. And even when we were considering that we thought, what about the safety of the families attending. I think that says something when we are concerned about families just getting together being threatened.

Um, last I would say, either everyone is welcome in Warrensburg, or no one is.

Thank you.

.

…Everyone here today is talking about the children. And, you know, as the person who is my dad just spoke, I am, actually, one of these children. I used to be. Three years ago I was in Warrensburg High School. This place, I have never felt, less safe.

I grew up here, born and raised here.

When I found out that I went to UCM I almost cried because of the safety that I didn’t ever really feel in this community.

In high school people said heinous phrases to insult me just for being LGBTQ. People would shout ‘faggot’ towards me. People would shout slurs in my direction. I even had people tell me that they hope I got raped by my dad.

I have never felt more suicidal than homophobic people speaking against the rights of me and my siblings. The only places I have ever felt safe in Warrensburg, from even just walking down the street, has been the Pride events in Warrensburg.

These pride events are really important for children to experience because in high school they are not safe. They do not feel safe. LGBTQ kids feel like they have no community. And Pride is that sense of community.

I know people have said they’ve been worried about the drag shows and have showed images. I, trust me, you can see worse images if you go to a public pool. These public pools, we’re not showing ordinances against those. And this is because it’s not an LGBTQ event.

They’re not attacking us because it is not a sexually exploitive experience, it is because they are LGBTQ.

People talk about the agenda, people in the audience have said this, this is just because it’s LGBTQ people.

There are kids, including my siblings, who are the positions that I was in, who cannot access Pride anymore. And LGBTQ kids, just like me, are afraid to speak up.

The only thing this proposed ordinance would protect children from is their own self-expression. Please, if you care about people like me, do not pass this ordinance.

Thank you.

.

…back in the day I was a tour director. And I took conventions, conferences, and tours to places like Miami, New York City, Chicago, uh, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas. A few years after that I taught on post at a military base. And I have seen all of the clubs that are on the outside gates of the military base.

I can pretty much, with assurance, state that what we had last year at Pride was none of the above. It was very family friendly and we should be very comfortable with NClusion Plus. They took great care of the kids that came to see them.

In the state of Missouri it is legal for a parent to give permission for a child under the age of 16 to marry. In the state of Missouri it is legal to force a child who has been raped to bear a child.

Think about that.

I am extremely concerned that because the words perversion, yad, yada, yada, etcetera, whatever, are getting thrown around we are mistaking human sexuality for an imaginary problem.

Grooming happens within a trust relationship. Those trust relationships are mostly really close to home. It’s the pastor, it’s the athletic coach, it’s the caretaker, it’s the babysitter.

It doesn’t happen in a one-hour or two-hour show.

We have had somewhere around six hundred years of common reading available. And in that time we have managed to read the bible, all manner of western civilization literature and it has not gotten rid of gayness.

They’re not going away.

Two hours at a kid friendly drag show, make those, outlaw those? That’s Robin Williams. That’s Bob Hope. [laughter] Yeah.

We just had a proclamation in this chamber a couple of months ago supporting the LGBTQIA community. In the city of Warrensburg we declared ourselves a welcoming community.

I don’t care how you raise your children. You do not have the right to tell anyone else how to raise theirs.

And the city of Warrensburg has followed their processes, yes ma’am….

.

…I’ve been a member of the Warrensburg community for thirty years. And I stand firm when I say that I stand to protect children. Allowing those children, 18 an under, to attend any type of adult entertainment, including a drag show is unacceptable. It doesn’t matter if they are the children or family of the performers or participants.

State laws that prohibit this are there to protect the children in our community.

In this community there seems to be some question whether the state laws in place should be enforced locally.

I would like a municipal ordinance put in place to codify that no one under 18 be allowed to drag shows or any other adult entertainment within city limits.

Thank you.

.

“…State laws that prohibit this are there…”

“…there seems to be some question whether the state laws in place should be enforced locally…”

Rick Brattin (r) and Denny Hoskins (r) are the pre-eminent legal scholars and final arbiters of the law in the State of Missouri, said no one ever.

…Um, we’ve talked a lot about rights. And what I realize, I think, anyway, what I realize is there was no vote taken about having a drag queen show in the Warrensburg area. It just appeared. So anybody who didn’t particularly want it really never even got to have a vote about that.

So now, belatedly, we’re coming forward and saying we don’t want that for children. We simply don’t want it for children.

[….]

The bottom line is that drag queen exposure for kids just helps confuse them. And it’s a mean trick. It obvious, it, I mean, it is. If somebody had thrown that in my face when I was a kid I probably would have run out screaming. And that’s the truth. I would have started crying and run away.

Um, it’s, it’s not fair. It is just not a fair thing to do to children. It mixes them up, it confuses them.

So, I do also request that the city do, uh, a municipal ordinance to ban drag queen shows for children, for children. Let’s not mix them up anymore. Life’s hard enough. Thanks.

.

“…what I realize is there was no vote taken about having a drag queen show in the Warrensburg area….”

There were no votes taken about which pizza toppings to order…in the Warrensburg area. There were no votes taken about what day we can wax our cars…in the Warrensburg area. There were no votes taken about which doctor’s office we can visit…in the Warrensburg area.

“…It just appeared….” Immaculately.

“…So anybody who didn’t particularly want it really never even got to have a vote about that…”

And no one really never even got to have a vote about which movies appear at the local theater. Fancy that.

Bugs Bunny?

…I, too, have been a resident of this town for fifty years. Quite some time. [….] However, I also have worked for the city of Warrensburg, as a dispatcher, a law enforcement officer, and in Johnson County as a law enforcement officer investigating child abuse and personal crimes.

During that point in time I never, in my investigation of child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, child emotional abuse, ever spoke to a drag queen. I spoke to pastors, I spoke to friends, I spoke to family. I spoke to two little girls whose father committed suicide because it was disclosed that he had been sexually abusing the older daughter. Never a drag queen.

We’ve heard talk of grooming [….] and I believe this was brought to your attention just a few minutes ago as well, that there are several steps to grooming a child to the point that they can be sexually abused. It includes gaining trust and access, playing a role in the child’s life, isolating the child, creating secrecy around this relationship, initiating sexual contact, and controlling this relationship. It does not happen, again, as been mentioned, in a one hour drag show.

It doesn’t happen.

If people want to talk to others about protecting children maybe this needs to be taken to the schools, maybe this needs to be taken to the churches, maybe this needs to be a community project with parents and caregivers in the city of Warrensburg.

I’m not a religious person, but I will finish with this. Matthew 7-1, the new living translation, do not judge others and you will not be judged. Verse 2, you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

I’d also like to say [turning to gallery], so many times I cannot hear the words of love that you are professing, because your actions are too loud.

Thank you.

.

Previously:

Warrensburg Pride Festival – June 26, 2021 (June 26, 2021)

Local busybodies engage in pearl clutching (June 3, 2022)

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ.” (June 4, 2022)

Pride Festival – Warrensburg, Missouri – June 4, 2022 (June 4, 2022)

The pearl clutching right wingnut bigots among us (April 19, 2023)

Always the other (April 21, 2023)

Meta – The pearl clutching right wingnut bigots among us (April 22, 2023)

Unified Field Theory of Right Wingnut Pearl Clutching, Self-Righteousness, and Victimhood (April 22, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council – April 24, 2023 (April 25, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council – April 24, 2023 – part 2 (April 26, 2023)

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

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)

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.

So, I am a registered nurse, I graduated UCM and then, um, I have a medical degree from Japan. I’m a psychiatrist. And as a psychiatrist my concern is LGBTQ youth suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of youth. In 2019 19% of youth considered to attempt suicide. And 77% of them are LGBTQIA+ community. [….] In 2020, nationwide, 73% of LGBTQIA+ youth experienced discrimination, based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. And 45% considered suicide and 14% attempted suicide. In Missouri, its numbers are about the same.

So, it was noticed by U.S. government, long time ago, twenty years ago, the U.S. government had this program, plan, to reduce LGBTQIA+ youth suicide with, you know, decrease the number of people committing suicide. So, many researchers are done research and they found a risk factor is stigmatizing, stigmatizing is for who they are. And the youth feel isolation, feeling of being a burden to people, and negative school, like bullying. And they also find there’s a positive protective factor which is support from school, family, community.

So, I’m a scientist. I know we like to divide things in groups. But humans […] inside, outside, doesn’t match, that don’t match. [,,,] They are born to be that way.

I have been to the Pride Festival, twice, two years, two years ago and last year. And the significant thing I, touched my heart, there was many young people wrapping themselves with the pride flag, holding their hands, they, their face were peaceful. Then I, I realized this is what they need. They need to feel they’re okay to exist. Most of this, I’ve been there, most of the performer, they’ve been through discrimination. They are not professionals, they have their day job, they do this part time. They’re trying to tell young people it’s okay to be who they are.

So, as we talk about the safety of children as a community we have to provide safe environment for the children to keep them. Thank you.

.

…We have, uh, gone to the drag shows, as she said. I didn’t see anything that would, uh, indicate a violation of any of the laws that were mentioned. We thought it was a friendly, uh, and, uh, supportive event, as my wife said. We’ve raised five kids. We feel that we can make decisions about what events our children should attend. Input from other people is not needed, and frankly, not welcome.

Last time I was here I mentioned that I thought there was an economic issue, with the economic health of Warrensburg. That if we discourage people from holding a variety of events that, uh, has a negative impact on Warrensburg. And since that time we’ve seen that the, uh, Pride Fest that was planned is now limited to adults. Guess what that means? That means there are people who would have been in Warrensburg, frequenting businesses, spending money that, that day, who will not be. If the sort of ordinance that’s being supported were to be passed that would mean, uh, in the future, uh, there will be people who otherwise might have come to Warrensburg who will not.

Not just for that particular event, but because they see Warrensburg as a place that is not welcoming to them.

So, my thought is, let’s be careful about the decisions we make where we try to legislate morality for other people because those decisions may well come back to bite us economically. Thank you for your attention.

.

When we moved here, almost two years ago, I thought I lived in Warrensburg [….] We are kind of here, hearing a lot of opinions about a lot of stuff, but I think the thing that strikes me most is that there are laws in this country for a reason to protect children. Children don’t process things well as youth. They have to grow and mature. And, until in this nation have been identified as roughly eighteen years of age, some twenty-one, depends on what it is, they are not allowed to make or partake in situations which you’ve heard about here tonight [….]

.

Except you’ll make the parenting decisions for someone else’s kids. Because?

Explain the differences among the 1st Amendment, the 2nd Amendment, and the 14th amendment. We’ll wait.

So, I work here in Warrensburg. I’m the mother of six and I’m very concerned about having kids in our community attend drag shows. It’s never appropriate for kids to attend these type of events. I understand the event in June is now an adults only event, but my continued concern is for next year. We will need the city council to stand up and make it clear where they stand. Protect our children. A munici, a municipal ordinance would accomplish this. I want to thank Missouri senator Rick Brattin [r]…

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“…It’s never appropriate for kids to attend these type of events…” You attended? If not, how would you know? But you still get to decide for everyone else? Because?

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

The NClusion drag queen venue is sexually explicit adult entertainment. I think we’d all agree about that. Adult entertainment should be for mature audiences only. Drag queens are female impersonators who’s venue can sexually exploit children with their indoctrination about adult sexuality and sexual orientation.

[….]

.
“…I think we’d all agree about that…” Uh, no. You might have noticed other speakers two weeks ago and at this city council meeting, right?

Because they’re so credible?:

…I want to start off by reminding everyone here that our children are our future. They are our heritage. God states in his words that every child is a gift and every child is a reward.

We live in a society where our children are constantly being told they have to believe a particular way, otherwise they are wrong or perhaps they are a bad person or even a hater.

Some would argue that we here today, we might be haters, fearmongers, or the dreaded homophobics because we don’t bow down and agree to the senseless immoral, perverted, corrupt garbage that is being thrown around and forced on us.

We, in fact, we embrace the right to choose. We’re speaking on behalf of the children. We also embrace reality. Normal moral and ethical living. Living is right, living right is not rocket science, it’s common sense. And like the most of us in this room I think we’re strong in that part. [….]

We are here as a group of citizens. We are committed to standing for the voiceless, our children, the ones who don’t have a voice in these days.

We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, no matter what names, titles, or ridiculous ideologies others may speak against us or throw our direction. We are fully aware who we are through god who created us.

We are looking for solutions and so that’s where you all come in. We want safeguards put in place. We want accountability where there should be accountability. We want our children protected against EXPLOTATION.

We don’t come with a lot of feel good stories about our experiences with last year’s drag queen show. However, we did come with evidence that they are being exploited.

Photos of minor children at last year’s event were handed to you last, at the last meeting as well.

We want our children protected from an agenda that is hell bent on grooming our children. We want our children’s minds and their lives protected in these very vulnerable years.

[….]

We are committed to standing strong until this battle is won, until we see action from you on behalf our minors. We want to see an ordinance. We’re not going away, guys.

.
“…We live in a society where our children are constantly being told they have to believe a particular way, otherwise they are wrong or perhaps they are a bad person or even a hater…” Wait, isn’t that an argument against organized religion?

“…Some would argue that we here today, we might be haters…” Okay. If the shoe fits…

“…the dreaded homophobics…” Weren’t they a punk band in the 80s Waukesha music scene? Maybe not.

“..the senseless immoral, perverted, corrupt garbage that is being thrown around and forced on us…” That’s a whole lot to unpack there.

“…we embrace the right to choose…” Irony challenged. Definitely.

“…However, we did come with evidence that they are being exploited…” Evidently not.

You can feel all the love.

Previously:

Warrensburg Pride Festival – June 26, 2021 (June 26, 2021)

Local busybodies engage in pearl clutching (June 3, 2022)

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ.” (June 4, 2022)

Pride Festival – Warrensburg, Missouri – June 4, 2022 (June 4, 2022)

The pearl clutching right wingnut bigots among us (April 19, 2023)

Always the other (April 21, 2023)

Meta – The pearl clutching right wingnut bigots among us (April 22, 2023)

Unified Field Theory of Right Wingnut Pearl Clutching, Self-Righteousness, and Victimhood (April 22, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council – April 24, 2023 (April 25, 2023)

Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council – April 24, 2023 – part 2 (April 26, 2023)

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

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)

A group billing themselves as Johnson County Citizens for the Protection of Children is 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 organized on-line to present a petition to the Warrensburg City Council during the public comment portion of last night’s meeting 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.

Over 100 people crowded into the gallery of the city council chambers by the scheduled 7:00 p.m. start of the meeting. We asked a city council meeting regular if they recalled any other meetings with this large of a crowd. “No.”

After the city council convened and worked through the beginning of the agenda the portion of the meeting for public comment was prefaced by an explanation of the ground rules. The city council was there to listen, but would not comment nor respond to questions. Individuals who signed up for public comment were allotted three minutes, with a city official acting as the timer. This worked well, with one glaring exception. Speakers were asked to state their name and address.

…I’m the one that invited the folks to come to our community and have a Pride event. I tried to get one started in 2020, didn’t work out. 2021, we had our first one, I thought it went very well. We also had one last year, and evidently some folks not real happy about having that event. I’m not sure what to say.

I was thinking Carrie might be here, but I guess I don’t see her right now. I know she used to live right close here. But, I thought when we got rid of the Nineteenth and adopted the Twenty-First that we might have been a little closer to understanding that we should let people have their freedoms and do things. And if we don’t like it, don’t go. That would be the point of this Pride deal, is that if don’t want to go, you don’t have to go. If other people want to go to do a legal activity in a enclosed environment, they should be able to do that.

Now, I’ve heard about those other people in Columbia, those fearful people from a big city. But, again, they were invited to come to our community. Many speakers here today will tell you that they want to have that activity occur.

The other thing I guess I was hearing is that there was abuse last year. I’m a father, a grandfather, I served twenty-one years in the Army, I was a required reporter for child abuse for more than twenty years in Missouri. Used to inspect day cares and home care providers. If I saw abuse I would have reported or stopped it. There was no abuse.

If you look on social media you’ll see some pictures. That’s not anything filmed in Johnson County. I don’t recognize any of those performers. They didn’t come to our town to perform. I don’t know where that was filmed at, but that didn’t happen here. Nor, would we allow that type of performance.

So, let’s be a little clear, you know [….]. Anyway, I guess I don’t see Carrie, but I think her spirit is here. If you want to know Carrie’s last name, it’s Nation. She’s the one with the Tomahawk. [“Time”] [laughter] Thank you.

…the advertisement for the Burg Pride Fest. And the thing that caught me on the invitation was there are seven and a half hours specifically allotted for children and/or their parents or their supervisor. And there’s one and a half hours allotted for adults. So that gives a message to me. It’s like why is there this inordinate desire for these people to be in front of kids? So, that was my first thought…

Never been to a movie theatre? Never watched television?

“Inordinate desire”? Don’t think of an elephant.

“These people”?

… [501(c)3 or 501(c)4] …I was super curious about the organization that brought this petition up, or will be bringing the petition up….I looked on our Secretary of State’s site and found that this organization, We the People of Missouri, was registered as a 501(c)4 which says they are non-partisan and educational…

…that in order to be considered educational it must present a sufficiently full and fair exposition of pertinent facts, to permit a formation of an independent opinion or conclusion.

Now, I do believe there will be items raised on both sides of this concern tonight, I do not believe they will be brought by the same people…

…I come before you tonight as one of many citizens standing up to protect our children from exposure to inappropriate performances that are commonplace at drag shows…

…Like many of my neighbors and friends I’m very concerned about what children see and learn. For instance, there’s an organization here tonight and I think it’s awful that kids learn hate and Fascism and things like that. So, what I’m gonna do about it is, I’m not gonna take my kids. And what I’m not gonna do about it is come to this, this, government and ask you to infringe on their First Amendment rights…

…Our LGBTQ community are not nuisances. They’re not. So, if you don’t like Pride, don’t go. And the last thing I have to say is, you know, don’t be, don’t be the council that signs on to Fascism…

I attended last year’s event. There was no abuse anywhere. There were a lot of adults there. There were a lot of kids there. It was publicized, no one was caught off guard, and it was a voluntary event. People could choose to attend or not attend.

I have a problem with the characterization of performers as being evil, or predatory, or whatever they want to call it. There is no evidence of that. And that is not a way that we address human beings. Out of such language come things like mass shootings. And we don’t need to do that.

This is a group within our community. It is not the entire community. There are other groups in the community that hold different views on how to raise their children. I do not tell them how to raise their children, and I respectfully ask that they not tell me how to raise mine. I will choose the events that they go to, I will choose the books that they read, and I expect that others will grant me the same respect.

This is not a necessary petition.

It was on private property. It was closed. The children did not get there by nefarious means, they did not magically transport there. Their parents brought them there.

And their parents have the right to emphasize the values that they consider important. You may not like that…but it is still their right to raise their children according to their values. Just as it is to raise your children according to your values.

So, I would suggest that we understand within a much larger community of other groups and that they do not speak for all of us. And they do not speak for me. Thank you.

Previously:

Warrensburg Pride Festival – June 26, 2021 (June 26, 2021)

Local busybodies engage in pearl clutching (June 3, 2022)

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ.” (June 4, 2022)

Pride Festival – Warrensburg, Missouri – June 4, 2022 (June 4, 2022)

What gives you the mistaken impression that we give a fuck about what you think? Part the infinity… (November 21, 2022)

The pearl clutching right wingnut bigots among us (April 19, 2023)

Always the other (April 21, 2023)

Meta – The pearl clutching right wingnut bigots among us (April 22, 2023)

Unified Field Theory of Right Wingnut Pearl Clutching, Self-Righteousness, and Victimhood (April 22, 2023)