|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
As the Prattville Pride float wound through the streets of Downtown Prattville Friday night, citizens lined along the curbs shouted at them: mostly things like “Merry Christmas!” and “Throw me some candy!”
After two weeks of fervor over the group’s participation in the parade, perhaps the biggest problem the group faced was running out of candy with still about a mile left to go.
That’s not to say there weren’t other issues; not everyone looked pleased to see the float included in the parade. A group of high-school-aged boys booed at the float as it passed by; a water balloon fell just short of soaking a child on the float in near-freezing temperatures.
But those isolated incidents were few and far between compared to a generally cheery reception for the float. Some parade goers voiced particular excitement to see the float made it in the parade.
Many young children waved and smiled, wishing the group a merry Christmas and holding out plastic bags hoping to catch as much candy as possible.
Two police officers circled the float on bicycles, an escort ordered by a federal judge on Friday afternoon in a ruling forcing the City of Prattville to allow the group in the parade on First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds.
Prattville Pride president Adam Hunt and vice president Caryl Lawson speak with reporters before participating in the annual Prattville Christmas parade. (Wesleigh John/PRATTVILLE PRIDE)
“Prattville Pride is deeply grateful for the federal court injunction that upheld our right to participate in this year’s parade,” Prattville Pride said in a statement to APR. “This victory not only affirms our place in the community but also underscores the importance of standing up for civil rights—both for ourselves and for LGBTQIA individuals across the country.
“Last night, despite the cold, we had an incredible time celebrating alongside our neighbors. The reception from the crowd was overwhelmingly welcoming and supportive, and it was a joy to share such a special moment with everyone. The parade was a testament to the power of unity, love, and visibility.
“While it saddens us that we had to fight to have our rights recognized and protected, we are so thankful that everything went smoothly and that our community had the chance to see us for who we truly are—people just like them. At our core, we all share far more in common than what separates us, and moments like these remind us of that truth.”
Some citizens had expressed anger at the inclusion of a drag queen on the float. That individual, which Prattville Pride refers to as Miss Fountain City, did not ultimately join the float out of fear for their safety. Instead, the evening gown that they had been set to wear lay draped on the chair where they would have been seated.
An evening gown is draped on an empty chair on the Prattville Pride float after Miss Fountain City Alee Michelle Sapphire decided not to join the float out of fear for their safety. (Wesleigh John/PRATTVILLE PRIDE)
Mayor Bill Gillespie announced Thursday morning that Prattville Pride would not be allowed to participate in the parade based on “serious safety concerns” reported by the group in an effort to balance “the rights of parade participants against the overall safety of everyone involved at the parade.”
Online threats including throwing cold water on participants in the float, or throwing eggs or tomatoes. More threats came Friday when U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. ruled that the float could not be denied.
At least a few floats pulled out of the parade in response to the inclusion of Prattville Pride.
“Unfortunately we are back to our original stance of having to forgo the parade since the pride float with their drag queen is back in it,” said Fr. Den Irwin of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. “I am sincerely sorry for any inconvenience. We were trying to support the City after they boldly removed the float. However Prattville pride challenged the ruling in court and won.”
Drive-In Park, a one-screen drive-in theater that shows Christian movies, said in a statement their “convictions at Drive-In have guided us to decide that we should not participate this year due to the inclusion of the Prattville Pride float.”
Some citizens also decided to forgo the parade for other area parades, although attendance at Prattville’s parade remained strong.
Huffaker Jr. wrote in his ruling that Prattville’s removal of the float amounted to a “heckler’s veto” that effectively denied free speech to the group on the tenuous grounds that their speech could create retaliatory violence.
“The Court struggles with how the City’s decision to remove a law abiding parade participant could ever survive any level of scrutiny when the more easily tailored, and reasonable, response is to simply implement additional security measures, such as
two or more law enforcement officers who can walk with the float on the parade route and make an arrest if an egg, water, or rock is thrown,” Huffaker Jr. wrote.
The lawsuit remains active despite the injunction granting relief to Prattville Pride to allow its participation in the parade.
