Image Credit: Franklin Tennessee / YouTube & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –
This week, The City of Franklin BOMA (Board of Mayor and Alderman) voted unanimously to grant a permit to Franklin Pride for them to hold their annual Pride Festival in Harlinsdale Park, a public park owned and managed by the City of Franklin.
The issue, as it has been for the past 3 years, since the festival’s inception, is whether the organization should be allowed to use a public park for their festival, which many people in the community feel is inappropriate for a public space.
In past years, the controversy centered around the type of entertainment that was being featured at the festival, where several of the acts included self-identified drag performers.
The acts were caught on video and shared widely on social media. The actions of the persons performing in those acts were objectively overtly sexual, where there were several minor children in attendance at the festival and in the audience.
The festival had been advertised as “family friendly”.
Last year, however, the organizers of the event used their connection with Mayor Ken Moore’s office, and the city, to employ Franklin City Police to act as security at the festival.
As The Tennessee Conservative previously reported, during the festival one person was arrested and several others were removed from the public space by Franklin City police, under the orders of event organizers.
Those individuals have initiated litigation against the city, because the basis for the removal and arrest by Franklin City police, based on court testimony from arresting officers, was due to the fact that the individuals were wearing shirts with Christian sayings like “Jesus Changed My Life, Ask Me How”, carrying a bible, and others for simply praying across the street from where the festival was being held.
Ironically, it was fear of lawsuits that seemed to be at the core of the rationale used by BOMA for the approval of last year’s petition, despite the fact that there were laws being legislated at the time that would have made any display featuring drag performers (that could be viewed by minors) a violation of state law.
With those new state laws now facing their own current battles in the Federal court’s 5th Circuit, BOMA seemed less concerned as citizens came to the podium to raise their objections to such an event being held in a public space.
Several speakers, which included two local pastors, expressed objections based on religious convictions, and that such an event would lead to the degradation of the community and its residents, especially the young people.
However, there were salient points made regarding the pending litigation due to last year’s event and the decisions made by the event organizers to order arrests and expulsions based on the religious convictions of those who were attempting to attend the event.
Particularly applicable comments were made by Elise Farrell, a retired attorney and Franklin resident.
Ferrell said, “All I can say is, ironically, you all were very worried about getting sued..you were very concerned about getting sued so you said you had no option but to grant a permit. But Franklin’s now defending two lawsuits.”
She continued, “That’s because the very people who demanded their rights be respected, unlawfully infringed on the rights of other people”.
Ferrell also addressed the rules that the organizers have said they intend to apply to those who choose to attend the festival this year, and warned that after reviewing them, they will certainly find themselves on the receiving end of yet another lawsuit, if the festival is carried out under those conditions.
Some of those rules are:
-No fighting or threatening behavior; any person found fighting will be ejected from the festival.
-No disorderly or disruptive behavior will be tolerated.
-Anyone who is deemed to be not following the mission of Franklin Pride TN by words, action, materials, attire will be
asked to leave the Festival grounds.
-Any item that can be used as a means to disturb the peace, endanger the safety of the crowd, and/or inflict damage to
people and/or goods are prohibited.
What exactly is the mission of Franklin Pride?
From their website:
“The mission of Franklin Pride TN is to educate, inform and foster community that brings together LGBTQIA+ people and their allies in a social, non-threatening and empowering setting to uplift, educate and present positive images that help maintain a healthy, productive, and visionary community in Williamson County and surrounding areas. Franklin Pride TN seeks to foster an environment where all citizens in Middle Tennessee feel safe to live openly. We encourage fellowship and support among participating businesses, professionals, individuals, and charitable pursuits in the LGBTQIA+ and allied communities. Franklin Pride TN exists to oppose prejudice in society at large.”
Ferrell concluded her comments by stating, “Franklin Pride cannot use their permit as a license to censor people…private parties cannot place prior restraints on free speech… and if any other group had subjected the city to two lawsuits and potentially more lawsuits, I doubt you would be granting them a permit”.
One of the points made by several of those who chose to speak was that there had been an offer for the event to be held on private property at no cost to the organizers. Such a decision would avoid potential litigation and the possibility of millions more dollars being spent on potential lawsuits.
Should the City of Franklin find themselves on the losing end of the current litigation, they will be paying those (which will likely be in the millions of dollars) with taxpayer money.
After all public comment was finished, the board all very quickly and with no discussion approved Franklin Pride’s request for a permit to hold their event in Harlinsdale Park.
Franklin Pride is currently slated to be held on June 1st.
Should any residents wish to contact the board to express their objections or support, email contact information is below.
Beverly Burger, 1st Ward: bev@aldermanburger.com
Matt Brown Ward, 2nd Ward: Matt.Brown@franklintn.gov
Jason Potts Ward, 3rd Ward: alderman.potts@franklintn.gov
Patrick Baggett, 4th Ward: patrick.baggett@franklintn.gov
Clyde Barnhill Alderman At Large: clyde.barnhill@franklintn.gov
Greg Caesar, Alderman At Large: greg.caesar@franklintn.gov
Ann Petersen Alderman At Large: annpetersen@comcast.net
Brandy Blanton Alderman At Large: brandy.blanton@franklintn.gov
Mayor Ken Moore: ken.moore@franklintn.gov
About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member. Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.