The fallout from last year’s dueling holiday parades continues at City Hall.
City leaders Thursday in a 4-1 vote approved a new city-events ordinance, despite a large contingent of area Christians showing up to voice their opposition and one councilman not yet on board.
Under ordinance 2023-14, to qualify for city sponsorship, organizations must demonstrate grants donated back to city; that the event promotes historical, cultural and arts preservation; and that it generates an economic benefit to the community through taxes or other factors, officials said.
Critics charge the action favors “inclusive” events over traditional parades, and could blunt the city’s sponsorship of the latter.
“It seems that there is a general disregard for a large portion of the population here in our community in an effort to be ‘inclusive,’ I guess is the word,” said Jeff Ripple, a member of the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance, which promotes a traditional parade. “I think the council’s actions, your inactions and policies tell a different story. As I am listening to the conversation here tonight, I can’t help but wonder, ‘Where will the traditional Taylor Christmas Parade of Lights fall in this new ordinance that is proposed to be adopted by the city of Taylor?’” “I wish we would have a list of city-adopted events,” said At-large Councilman Dwayne Ariola, who cast the lone dissenting vote. “To me, this is just too vague still.”
In December 2022, the city found itself in the national spotlight when the ministerial alliance and Taylor Pride, an LGBTQ-plus rights group, clashed over whether to allow drag queen performances in the annual Christmas parade, which resulted in two back-toback parades, including the city’s “Very Merry Holiday Parade,” which included a float from Taylor Pride featuring individuals dressed in drag.
Since that time, the city had been attempting to implement guidelines that would spell out the rules for private events, as well as city co-sponsorship of events, which entails the municipality providing an in-kind donation of the personnel and street closures, which can cost thousands of dollars in overtime and other expenses.
In early December and in April, the council heard versions of the policy, which city leaders have said is necessary to “reflect current state and federal laws,” but they tabled the ordinance to work with outside legal counsel to ensure constitutionality.
“This is the second reading of the ordinance,” said City Manager Brian LaBorde at the meeting. “We gave some consideration to the literature that was passed out (at the April 13 City Council meeting).”
But dozens of people showed up at the May 25 meeting to protest the new rules.
“I think we are all curious to know what is going to be included and excluded,” said Jeff Sciarretta. “We have this diversity equity and inclusion thing going on here but that just seems to be sometimes a shadow to discriminate against religious freedom. That is what has been used in many towns, and I don’t want Taylor to fall into that trap.”
John Needler said the law could hurt the city’s traditions.
“It is my prayer that all of you and the citizens here in Taylor would not allow the pillars of this community and all that they have done be outcast just to adopt a few people who feel that they have been excluded or offended,” Needler said. “Please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater if you are trying to do what’s right.”
Several of the speakers continued to voice their opposition to drag performances, which they said were sexual in nature and inappropriate for children, and lauded Senate Bill 12, which is currently awaiting the governor’s signature and has been vehemently opposed by LGBTQ-plus rights’ advocates.
“We all know that this was the parade event that brought this up,” said the Rev. Shane Allen. “It is designed specifically to prevent TAMA from hosting the Christmas parade with the city as a co-sponsor... You have an agenda, and you want to get it passed... You see it as vitally necessary to have adult drag queens on a float at what is essentially a children’s parade. I don’t understand that.”
Jonathan Saenz, a lawyer and president of Texas Values, said the ordinance was overly broad, gave too much power to the city manager, and that a subsection requiring an organization to have insurance was contrary to state and federal law, among other concerns.
“This ordinance is unconstitutional in many ways,” Saenz said. “By the way, with qualified immunity, if a government actor knows that something is unconstitutional and continues to do it, they could be sued and personally have to pay.”
But city spokeswoman Stacey Osborne earlier said the new ordinance has been carefully vetted and is needed.
“This policy is needed because we did not have one,” Osborne said. “They (city staff) started developing it in July of last year and revisited it after the parade. When they presented it to the council, they revisited the topic and adjusted the policy. We brought in a consultant to help us to make sure we were legally and constitutionally covered, and that it was a policy that would serve the city in the best way possible.”
