N. Brookfield official defends drag show denial; says it's 'an exaggerated view of human sexuality'

NORTH BROOKFIELD — The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts is calling on the North Brookfield Select Board to rescind its decision to deny a local group permission to include a drag show at an upcoming Pride celebration on the Town Common.

The Massachusetts ACLU sent a letter to the board on Tuesday urging members to rescind the decision because it is a violation of free speech, the ACLU said in a press release Wednesday.

"We call on North Brookfield and all communities in Massachusetts to recognize that discrimination against those who choose to express themselves through drag is inconsistent with our state and federal constitutions and basic democratic principles," wrote Ruth Bourquin, senior and managing attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Let’s be clear: Drag is a creative celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, and the government has no right to censor LGBTQ+ people and expression."

Board first voted to OK

A video recording of the Select Board meeting on March 28 shows Chairman Jason M. Petraitis and Vice Chair John Tripp expressing some concerns about including a drag performance in the Pride event.

However, Clerk Elizabeth Brooke Canada said that she didn't have concerns about the event or performance due to the organizers having proper permits and police presence. A small group of people speaking on behalf of the Pride event reassured the Select Board that the event would be "family friendly" and that the drag performances would be appropriate.

Despite some pushback from another attendee, who also expressed concerns about the appropriateness of the drag performances, the Select Board approved the Rural Justice Network’s request to host its “Small Town Pride” celebration in June, which would include a drag performance.

But on April 11, the board walked back its past action and reapproved the event on the condition that it not include any drag performance.

The video of the meeting, which saw a larger crowd compared to the March meeting, shows Petraitis and Tripp raising concerns about the event and whether it would be "family friendly."

"At the time there wasn't enough information to deny the drag part of the show, but after doing extensive research, we've got some information that would prohibit the drag portion of that show," Petraitis said.

Petraitis said that he had reviewed footage of drag performers from past events in West Brookfield, and that while the performers were "fully clothed," their "gestures and comments" were not appropriate for an event in the Town Common where kids would be "playing" and live nearby.

'Adult entertainment'

He said that drag performances, including story time in which drag performers read to children while dressed in drag, fall under "adult entertainment" and require a special permit due to zoning codes.

But the ACLU in its letter pushed back on the assertion that drag is "adult entertainment" and that using zoning codes is not justifiable.

"For one thing, the provisions of the zoning code that were cited apply only to 'Commercial and Industrial Uses,' " the letter said. "The Small Town Pride event is not a commercial or industrial use. And the cited provisions are not applicable to use of the traditional public forum of the Town Common."

After voting to rescind its initial approval, the Select Board voted again, 2-1 ‒ the only "no" vote coming from Canada ‒ to approve the event with the caveat that any kind of drag performance be excluded.

Canada said she has attended Pride events with drag performers in the past and never found them inappropriate.

"I don't think it's adult entertainment," she said at the meeting. "It's freedom of expression. I've been to these events. I've never seen anything that's been unsavory to anybody and I trust that our police force would enforce anything that's unlawful or adult in nature."

But Tripp said he could not see how it would not be inappropriate, or considered adult entertainment.

"If you want to see me in a Speedo, walking down to the playground, that's adult entertainment," Tripp said. "I'm not gonna do it, I'm just saying."

Canada disputed that characterization, but Tripp said that "whatever they're doing is wrong in my mind."

She then asked if the Select Board should put restrictions on other events after categorizing drag performances as "adult entertainment," despite not giving a clear definition of how it would fully under that category.

In the video of the meeting, the crowd attending began to push back against Canada, requiring Petraitis to step in and calm the crowd.

"There's way too many people in here for everybody to start getting irritated," he said.

"The decision was based on the majority’s conclusion that a drag show is not 'family friendly' and is 'wrong,' " the ACLU said. "Such reasoning was recently and roundly declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Judicial Court."

In the ACLU letter, the group alleged that at a meeting on Tuesday, Petraitis described drag performances as "vulgar and rude."

Video of that meeting is currently not online, but when asked, Petraitis confirmed those were the words he said at the meeting.

In a telephone interview with the T&G on Thursday, he expanded on what he meant by his words.

"It is adult entertainment and it involves an exaggerated view of human sexuality," he said.

Pressed on what he meant by "exaggerated view of human sexuality," Petraitis said he didn't think it needed to be expanded upon.

"It is what it is," he said.

Petraitis said that he did not agree with what the ACLU was saying in the letter, and that, as of now, the Select Board is not going to change its mind on the issue.

"I'm not restricting free speech," Petraitis said. "We're not telling people they can't dress a certain way. We're telling them they can't put on a show that exhibits the flaunting of human sexuality in an exaggerated manner."

Pressed further on what he meant by "flaunting of human sexuality in an exaggerated manner," Petraitis said, "If I have to explain it, then you're not going to understand it anyway."

The Select Board has also asked town counsel to review the issue, he said. However, even if counsel were to return and say it agreed with the ACLU's stance, he would have to look at the "context" and "what they have to say" before a decision is made on whether to permit the drag performance.

When asked if he thought the town may be ready for a potential lawsuit over the matter, Petraitis said, "I do."

Tennessee ruling

Earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily blocked a drag ban in Tennessee for being "unconstitutionally vague."

USA Today reported that the judge ruled that the law "leaves the door open for differing outcomes based a person's assessment of what is, and isn't, obscene. The word 'drag' doesn't appear in the new law."

When asked about the judge's ruling in Tennessee, Petraitis said the North Brookfield vote was not a ban on the drag show itself but a ban on having it performed in the Town Common, a public space where "children will be."

"If people ... feel that that's appropriate, then I think that you need to rethink your situation," he said. "Because it's clearly something that is for adults."

But the ACLU disagreed with both the assessment that the performance would be considered "adult entertainment" and that zoning laws would prohibit the performance from taking place in the public space.

Petraitis, when asked how he defined adult entertainment, said it would fall under "cabaret, burlesque-style entertainment."

"Even the ACLU said it in their letter. They said they equated it to cabaret," he said.

As a public space, Petraitis said, the Town Common can be used by request involving paperwork and a review. He said that all events, including dance performances, would have to undergo a review to ensure they were family friendly.

Since drag is considered adult entertainment, he said, it would have to go to a private establishment and have that establishment apply for a special permit.

"We're not saying they can't do that," Petraitis said. "We're saying they can't do it on the Common where there are, in fact, a lot of people and kids that aren't gonna want to see that."

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: North Brookfield drag show blocked by Select Board; ACLU protests