ST. GEORGE, Utah, May 23, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Organizers of a southern Utah drag show are suing St. George and city leaders for allegedly denying a special events permit without legitimate justification.
The Southern Utah Drag Stars filed a lawsuit Tuesday over the city’s refusal to grant a special events permit for a planned June show, saying the city unlawfully discriminated against them to prevent the performance.
Southern Utah Drag Stars CEO Mitski Avalōx applied March 3 for a special events permit to host a “family-friendly event” at JC Snow Park, 275 E. 900 South. The “planned drag performance was intended to celebrate and affirm their local LGBTQ+ community in the wake of recent anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and violence,” the lawsuit states.
“Their vision was a public event where community members of any gender identity and sexual orientation were welcome to share in an expression of joy, belonging, and family fun. Through the event, [Southern Utah] Drag Stars strove to promote acceptance, LGBTQ+ visibility, and unity within St. George.”
Avalōx said the city denied her application a few weeks later, saying she violated its advertising ordinance, which prohibits advertising for special events until the city grants a permit.
Avalōx contends the ordinance is unworkable and not regularly enforced, as permits typically aren’t issued until the day before or day of the event. In addition, while Avalōx’s permit application was pending, city officials suspended consideration of any new special events permits for six moths, with the exception of “city-sponsored” events.
The city’s action creates a “scheme whereby city officials selectively grant permits to favored events while denying all others,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah states in a news release.
“St. George’s special events policies discriminate against drag performances and are so opaque that no one can know what is allowed and what is not,” according to the ACLU of Utah, which is representing Avalōx and Southern Utah Drag Stars in the lawsuit.
“Requiring drag performers to meet unreasonable standards to receive a permit, or denying them these permits without legitimate justification, is censorship,” said Valentina De Fex, ACLU of Utah’s senior staff attorney. “Our lawsuit challenges the attempt by elected officials, who must uphold the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and Utah State Constitution, to push subjective viewpoints of what they deem appropriate.”
The lawsuit names the city of St. George, Mayor Michele Randall, city manager John Willis and City Council members Jimmie Hughes, Dannielle Larkin, Natalie Larsen, Gregg McArthur and Michelle Tanner as defendants.
There’s no family friendly drag event. These ppl are purely mental. End of story