Concerned citizens in Daleville are sounding the alarm ahead of the 2nd Annual South Alabama Pride Festival, which will be held on September 14, at the Daleville Cultural and Convention Center.
While the event is billed as an "inclusive, family-friendly community festival that celebrates the lives of LGBTQ+ people in South Alabama," critics warn that it targets innocent children who could be easily manipulated into life-altering choices and surgeries.
The South Alabama Pride Festival was hosted for the first time last year by Prism Counseling Community Services of Enterprise. Former Alabama State Board of Education member Betty Peters told 1819 News, "Nobody I know, including me, knew this event was going on last year."
On June 28, Prism Counseling and South Alabama Pride sponsored the Second Annual Mr. and Mrs. South Alabama Pride Drag Pageant at the Triumphant Cross Lutheran Church in Dothan. Several concerned siblings attended the event and discovered that children were in attendance. Attendees tried to stop the siblings from filming, and one young black male pulled a gun on the siblings, demanding that they delete the footage.
Peters noted that many of the same individuals and sponsors involved in the drag pageant are promoting the upcoming Daleville event. Official sponsors include KDM Property Management, Oddball Solutions, LLC, Dr. Ken Thomas, Critter Sitter, PFLAG of Dothan and the Wiregrass, Triumphant Cross Lutheran Church, Valiant Mental Health Services, LLC, Shelby Wood, and The Olive Fruit.
Peters said another connected group is Progressive Christians of Dothan, led by Pastor Liberty Salter and Rev. Dr. Brian C. Salter. Progressive Christians of Dothan features a rainbow flag on their Facebook Page and is affiliated with the Progressive Christian Alliance, whose core principles include "social justice" and "theological diversity."
Peters added that the same individuals pushing drag queen events "all over the state" approve "of the pornographic children's library books."
In April 2023, an "all-ages" drag event called "A Family Fun Show" was canceled in Forsyth County, Georgia, after U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) organized a counter-event for the same time. McCormick wrote on X, "I will not sit idly – at home or in Washington – when radical individuals or organizations attempt to target and indoctrinate our children."
In March 2023, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to pass legislation banning drag shows for children. Peters said that Alabama could have followed Tennessee's lead in the last legislative session if legislators had not been so focused on legalizing casino gambling. Peters hopes that increased awareness from this event and others will finally convince the state legislature "to reinstate the original wording of State Rep. Arnold Mooney's (R-Indian Springs) bill that had forbidden children to attend adult transgender shows."
Before moving to Enterprise, retired pastor Randy Harris served on the Republican Executive Republican Committee in Collier County, Florida, and coordinated with other Floridians to stop a drag show from being hosted in a public park, elect candidates to the school board, and get pornographic children's books out of libraries.
Harris told 1819 News, "My first concern is for the kids and the young people, and I'm talking even those in middle school, high school… They're confused enough with a lot of things that are going on in the world, and for someone to tell them they can change from a boy to a girl back and have the surgery, to me, is just a nonsensical approach… To me, it's criminal; it's child abuse to be pushing these kids."
Harris urged for greater engagement, saying, "Pastors don't want to get involved in political things, but this is not a political thing. This is a moral issue. And a lot of Christians will say, well, let's just pray about it. But you know what? Sometimes, prayer needs feet put to the prayers. We need to stand up and be counted."
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