LGBTQ+ group banned from marching in town’s Labor Day parade for the “safety of the public”

Members of Shenandoah Pride watch the Labor Day parade in Essex, Iowa.
Photo: Screenshot/KMTV

An LGBTQ+ group was banned from participating in an Iowa town’s Labor Day parade, reportedly at the behest of the mayor.

On Thursday, just days before the parade in Essex, Iowa, members of Shenandoah Pride say they received an email from Mayor Calvin Kinney on behalf of the city.

“Out of concern for the safety of the public and that of Essex Labor Day parade participants, the City of Essex has determined not to allow parade participants geared toward the promotion of, or opposition to, the politically charged topic of gender and/or sexual identification/orientation,” the email read. “This parade will not be used for and will not allow sexual identification or sexual orientation agendas for, or against, to be promoted.”

Essex City Council Member Heather Thornton told the Associated Press that the decision was made by Kinney, despite the fact that the parade’s organizers had…

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