Protesters gather during Bartlesville Pride – Examiner Enterprise
In the early afternoon Saturday, Tower Center at Unity Square transformed into a sea of rainbow. Booths populated the lawn in front of Price Tower, adorned with rainbow flags large and small, balloons, hats and other merchandise, kicking off the fifth annual Bartlesville Pride.
This year boasted a new addition, one less welcome by Oklahomans for Equality, the event’s host.
As the event was set up, so were protesters — standing on the corner of 6th Street and Dewey Avenue, corralled by blockades and surrounded by Bartlesville Police officers blocking the intersection and restricting the protesters’ movements.
With Pride kicking off at 3 p.m., the protesters held signs saying “GAY – Got Aids Yet?,” “Aids: Judgment or Cure” and several bible verses. The protesters, which fluctuated between three and seven people, took turns speaking into a megaphone, yelling things like “That rainbow flag is a symbol of your hatred of God. That’s what that is.”
“Regardless of what some of your churches tell you … God does not love you.”
Between songs, Zodiac, the band playing on the Unity Square stage at the start of the event, announced that BPD officers were requesting event goers not engage with the protesters.
Still, as the protesters began calling event goers groomers, among other things, the event organizers decided to deflate the bouncy houses, which were located near the intersection where the protest was occurring.
Soon, event-goers gravitated to the intersection, pouring across the street. A counter protest formed, standing between the protesters and the event. The counter protesters yelled back at protesters, waved rainbow flags and other Pride merchandise and chanted.
They spread out in front of the protesters, chanting loudly in an attempt to block their view and speak over them.
BPD officers gathered around the intersection, ensuring members stayed on opposite sides of a blockade and did not linger in the street, where cars continued to pass through, occasionally honking in solidarity with one side or the other.
Local debate about Bartlesville Pride began to grow on social media on Aug. 28 when City Council candidate Chelsie Wagoner posted to her campaign page on Facebook, sharing about the drag show planned for the event.
In her post, Wagoner wrote “Unity Square is a public and ‘family friendly’ park. Drag queens are notorious for sexual/provocative dance.” Her post sparked debate about Wagoner’s wording and intent behind the question. Soon her post had more than 200 comments debating both sides and posts popped up in community Facebook groups.
Some who agreed with Wagoner began organizing harassment campaigns on Pride sponsors, making schedules to call them repeatedly and sending threatening messages to local business owners.
One of the protesters, Rich Penkoski, said their group, Warriors for Christ, travels the country protesting at similar events. He said they attended Bartlesville Pride at the invitation of a local church that reached out, asking them to come.
“The message is this is wicked. This is evil. They’re doing it by choice,” Penkoski said.
“God sent Jesus Christ, His only son, to die on the cross so they don’t have to live like this. They can be free from sin, live holy and righteous and not go to Hell.”
Disciples Christian Church had a booth set up at the event, with Rev. Kelley Becker speaking out before the event about the “hateful rhetoric” surrounding it.
“As an aside, if these Christians are wondering why people are fleeing the church and why the term “religious trauma” is commonplace, they need only to look in the mirror,” Becker wrote in a Saturday column for the E-E.
Eventually, Pride organizers set up a speaker facing the protest, playing music loudly to drown out the protesters. The bouncy houses were reinflated and counter protesters largely returned to the event, with a few staying to chant.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m., the drag show began. As event goers flocked to the lawn in front of the stage, the protesters began speaking against the show.
No one stayed to counter protest.
The protesters left shortly after.
During the drag show, performer Keisha Kye addressed the crowd, saying that when she began performing in drag, she was required to wear at least one item of male clothing, or else would be arrested.
“Stonewall was fought for equality. You guys, I know we’ve had some protesters, but when all is said and done, we have come a long way,” Kye said.
“Just like I tell them, I love God too…I am so blessed.”