Lakeland officials asked by group of residents to put an end to charity drag brunch

LAKELAND ― A group of Christian residents challenged Lakeland officials Monday to put an end to a local drag brunch.

Lakeland resident Jon Friedt passed out copies he made of an advertisement for the local nonprofit Rose Dynasty Foundation Inc.'s upcoming family-friendly brunch Aug. 13 at Art/ifact, 820 N. Massachusetts Ave. The foundation is run by Jason DeShazo, a Lakeland man who has performed drag for over 20 years under the stage name Momma Ashley Rose.

"It's obvious these drag shows are targeting children," Friedt said. "This is reprehensible. Drag shows themselves are a perverse form of entertainment, but targeting children to participate is beyond the realm of entertainment but the realm of normalization, indoctrination and grooming."

Friedt pointed to the advertisement's lower left corner which states pre-sale tickets for children age 9 and under at $20, compared with $30 for adults.

"I don't believe children should be exposed to this type of activity. I don't believe we are protecting our children if we have this," Everette Evans, of Lakeland, said. "I suggest you carefully consider the consequences."

The brunch has been held monthly for more than two years, DeShazo told the Ledger, with different prices for adults and children as food is being served. It aims to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ families, their children and allies while raising funds to benefit other local charities, DeShazo said. This month, August, attendees are being asked to donate school supplies to benefit Polk County schools.

"I've been doing family-friendly drag for over 20 years. I've never done anything inappropriate," he said. "We've been family-friendly and safe for a very long time."

Many of the brunch's attendees are regulars, DeShazo said. The event will feature several guest performances, including an 11-year-old singing and a book reading during a break between other acts.

"We have kids and their families who look forward to this every month," he said.

Friedt and others said city officials should shut down the event because it is happening at a building owned by Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency. Part of the building is leased out to Art/ifact, a Lakeland nonprofit whose mission is to build "a vibrant community by fostering contemporary art and cultivating local artists," according to its website. It leased the building in May 2016 for five years, followed by a automatic five-year renewal.

"No child needs to see Mr. Tom dressed as Mrs. Kim," Lakeland resident Sean Jordan, 46, said. "A drag queen's influence is clearly demonic."

City Attorney Palmer Davis said as the city-owned building is leased to a private entity, the city has relinquished its rights and can't breech the lease unless there's illegal activity.

Florida's "Protection of Children Act," passed this year by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, seeks to prevent venues from admitting children to "adult live performances." But it has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, who found the law's language too broad, Davis said.

"There's a difference between what laws provide as legal privileges and what parents decide to do as individuals raising their children," Mutz said, noting he has 12 children and 35 grandchildren of his own.

Those gathered at the City Commission meeting suggested officials should turn to the Bible as God's law, quoting scripture pertaining to a "man should not dress up as a woman."

Mutz made clear city officials have to uphold and protect the civil rights legally provided for all citizens.

"The city is not a church and America is not a church. Churches exist — synagogues and opportunities for people to have faith — as an opportunity to be able to apply their lives within the framework of the principals guided within that particular belief system," the mayor said. "As city officials, we support the laws that exist and are in place, and the decisions that judges put in place. We don't have the prerogative to do it different than that when there is state and federal law. "

Commissioner Stephanie Madden asked whether the event would fall under obscenity law. The city attorney said obscenity law allows for nudity to some degree, but not while minors are present.

Commissioners were asked if any had attended the monthly events. Mutz said he hadn't and the city hadn't received any report.

There has been a Lakeland police officer present at each of the foundation's events since December, DeShazo said, ever since at least a dozen people carrying Nazi flags protested outside a similar gathering. He pays for an off-duty officer to perform a security detail to ensure attendees' safety.

"Deputies have been inside the building and see what we do," he said.

DeShazo said most of those vocally opposing the event have never attended one and don't know what actually takes place.

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"Our main message is everyone is loved and accepted no matter who they are," he said. "Who doesn't want to be in a place where they are loved, accepted and safe?"

Commissioner Bill Read said the protesters should reach out to State Attorney Brian Haas and ask him to look into the issue.

Jacob Orr, a spokesman for the state attorney's office, told The Ledger that, should the Lakeland Police Department submit any charges to the State Attorney's Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit, it would evaluate the facts of the case and all potential violations of state law.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Charity drag brunch in Lakeland comes under fire from conservatives