Permit to be issued for Pride fest, says Port Royal mayor. Drag show, parade not in plans
Port Royal Mayor Joe DeVito made it clear Thursday that a permit for a Pride festival — scheduled in a town park later this fall — will be issued because it isn’t illegal. He added that a parade and drag queen show — two issues that had prompted objections — are not part of the festival plans.
Over the past three months, opponents of the festival, which is planned in the city-owned Live Oak Park, have objected during town council public comment periods.
Concerns about the location of the festival being near an elementary school and the possibility of drag queens and a parade have been mentioned. So has the distribution of LGBTQ+ information regarding gender issues.
That, in turn, prompted other residents to show up in defense of what they described as a family-friendly event aimed at providing education and support and having fun.
With more people on both sides scheduled to speak on the matter again Wednesday, DeVito clarified the town’s legal position on the festival, the permit needed to conduct it and what the event will entail.
There’s been a lot of talk about a parade and a drag queen show but The LGBTQ+ Lowcountry Pride Group, which is sponsoring the event, has assured the town that neither is planned as part of the festival, DeVito said.
“No drag queen show, there will be no parade and there has been no laws broken by this group,” DeVito said.
The town, he said, got legal advice from two sources and was advised a Pride festival in a public park is not illegal, DeVito said. Given that, DeVito said, the town “will stand behind the United States Constitution.”
“That’s first and foremost,” DeVito said.
The permit for the festival would be approved by staff, he added.
Angela Wright of The LGBTQ+ Lowcountry Pride Group said Thursday that the Pride festival is scheduled for Nov. 18.
“We’re excited we’re able to move forward and have the event,” Wright said.
The festival, first organized in 2019, previously was held in Bluffton. The group decided to move to Port Royal because of interest by sponsors north of the Broad River in supporting it.
Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that law enforcement officials in Tennessee can’t use a state law that strictly limits drag shows to interfere with a local Pride festival, favoring event organizers who sued after a district attorney warned he intends to enforce the new statute.
In August, South Carolina’s Attorney General Alan Wilson filed a legal brief leading 17 other states in support of the Tennessee law, which is called the Adult Entertainment Act.
