LGBTQ+ groups increasing security ahead of Lincoln’s pride events
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – LGBTQ+ organizations and their allies are working to ensure the safety of everyone participating in pride events this June.
Star City Pride, which is hosting a parade and festival this weekend, said it’s had to cancel events in the past because of threats made online.
One of those was a drag show, which was canceled after Star City Pride said “an extreme group of individuals” posted misinformation, threats and derogatory information about the event.
Last week in Omaha, a pride flag was burned outside a home that had its old pride flag stolen about two months earlier.
Gretchen Arroyo, the president of Star City Pride, said the group is working to make everything runs smoothly.
“With the politically charged climate that is right now, we just don’t want to take any chances,” she said. “People are afraid of what they don’t know. And when it’s something that they can’t relate to with their own individual lives, some people just choose to hate what they don’t know.”
Arroyo said Star City Pride has amped up security by working with Lincoln Police, who will be patrolling during the parade Saturday.
It’s also hiring a private security firm out of Grand Island to work at the festival.
The First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln said it’s also working with Star City Pride to put on events in a safe environment.
The Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas, the minister of proclamation and practice of justice, said this is a time to be inclusive and open to all, no matter their beliefs.
“American Christianity is very diverse,” he said. “People need to be who they feel called to be. I know we feel called that the Gospel guides us in this way. It is the teachings of Jesus to love folks and to welcome folks, and so we’re just trying to do what Jesus does.”
The church is hosting a service on Sunday, led by the Rev. Neil Thomas from the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, which has one of largest shares of LGBTQ+ is one of the largest LGBTQ+ congregations in the country.
Others participating in events this weekend say pride is all about acceptance and peaceful rallying, so there shouldn’t be any violence involved.
Abbi Swatsworth with OutNebraska said anyone who wishes to be an ally or support the community during Pride is welcome to participate.
“I think our community really looks out for each other,” she said. “Pride really began as a protest against violence toward our community, and it continues to stand for that in a lot of ways.”
