There was some worry among supporters that the event on August 24 at the riverfront was going to be moved indoors by the City Commission because some people opposed it. Members of the LGBTQ community attended the meeting to voice their concerns, but the city's only issue is a lack of proper permits were still needed for an outdoor event.
Before public comments began, Paducah City Manager James Arndt commented on the concern, saying, "The permit has been filed to have the pride festival, it will be a permitted event and if the event organizer abides by the ordinances there is no issue with that, so the city has made no announcement, so I'm not sure where that's coming from."
Arndt's comments eased some of the worry within the LGBTQ community, leading one of the event's planners to acknowledge a misunderstanding over festival requirements. But that didn't stop people on both sides of the debate from voicing their opinions during the meeting.
One of the opponents of the festival, Russell Hobbs, stated, "I'm here because I'm concerned that our community is just headed full force into this. I hate to see us turning so quickly towards this. To me that's bad for our society. I pray to God that he'll stop this and help us to deal with it. I know that the people that elected them wouldn't want them doing this."
Laura Petrie, a supporter of the festival, said, "God said love your neighbor. Christians in this country have hijacked the term Christian. People who attend certain churches have hijacked the term Christian. I believe they persecute the LGBTQ community, then cry persecution against themselves and that is certainly not the case. Walk in my shoes. I'm one of the lucky ones and had a supporting loving family. Many LGBTQ people do not have that luxury."
For more information on the event, click the link to their Facebook page.
On the Net:
Western Kentucky Pride Festival Facebook page
