Sarah Stephens and Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
In a move this morning, the decision has been made by officials with the City of Prattville to remove the Prattville Pride float from participating in the Christmas Parade set for Friday.
The EAN was sent this release which reads, “This morning, it was brought to the City’s attention from Prattville Pride that there are serious safety concerns regarding Prattville Pride’s participation in the Christmas parade. Until today, there has only been conjecture and speculation regarding potential safety concerns that Prattville Pride’s participation in the parade may cause. The City will not put the rights of parade participants ahead of the safety of its citizens. Because of the safety concerns for Prattville Pride, other parade participants, as well as parade bystanders, the City has made the decision to remove Prattville Pride from the Christmas parade. This decision was made with careful thought and consideration while balancing the rights of parade participants against the overall safety of everyone involved at the parade. The City will always respect freedoms and rights of expression. However, as in this instance, it must put the overall safety of its citizens first.” Mayor Bill Gillespie, Jr.
Prattville Pride was also reached for comment, “At this time Prattville Pride has no comment, we have retained counsel,” President of Prattville Pride Adam Hunt said.
We will be working on more details of this story. Since word began getting out about the Prattville Pride’s intentions of having a drag queen on the float, a huge debate has surfaced, particularly on social media.
Some have begun targeting the young man who planned to ride in the float dressed as a woman, identifying him and posting various photos. A statewide media outlet ran a photo of the young man, identifying him by his stage name.
Some have called for a boycott of the parade, while other organizations have said they do not plan to participate.
This is a breaking story, and we will update as more information becomes available. We will reach out to Prattville Pride for their reaction.
