Murfreesboro, TN will pay half-million dollars for banning Pride festivals & making homosexuality illegal
You can’t put a price on pride, but $500k is a good start.
By Bil Browning Thursday for LGBTQ Nation –
Murfreesboro, TN, has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit for $500,000 and repeal an ordinance intended to ban drag shows and Pride festivals.
In June, the town banned public displays of sexual behavior, including “behaviors, materials or events that are patently offensive to the adult community.” “Sexual conduct” barred under the city ordinance includes “homosexuality.”
The city has used the ordinance to ban books from libraries and schools and to try to shut down the local Pride festival.
The vague ordinance outlawed “indecent behavior” in public, prohibited “indecent materials,” and stated that local lawmakers have “the right to establish and preserve contemporary community standards.” The definition used in the law was based on a longtime city statute that explicitly bans public homosexuality or materials that promote homosexuality.
The Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Tennessee sued over the city’s efforts to silence a local LGBTQ+ organization, including denying the group permits to host events and the local ordinance banning drag performances. A federal judge blocked the attempt to shut down the local Pride festival.
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