The Northern California city of Modesto has denied a request to hold a straight pride parade in a city park, CNN reported.
City officials said that the organizers of the event, the National Straight Pride Coalition, did not prove that they have insurance.
Officials also noted that the proposed parade was not consistent with what the park is used for and would not be compatible with other activities going on there that day.
Modesto suggested another location for the event and gave the organizers a Tuesday deadline to accept.
Many Modesto residents were upset about the planned march when the permit was requested last month and bombarded the municipality with letters, emails and phone calls about the issue, according to CBS Sacramento.
Council member Kristi Ah You said she thinks the event constitutes hate speech, pointing out that the National Straight Pride Coalition “talks about whiteness, it talks about western civilization, it talks about being Caucasian."
The event’s organizer, Don Grundmann, has argued that the parade is his group’s cultural answer to “anyone that supports the LGBTQ lifestyle.”
He stressed that “Essentially it boils down to two religious views of the world. One is Christianity, which is represented by heterosexuality, a culture of life, and its opponent is the LGBT movement, which is represented by an opposing religion and an opposing view of life.”
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