Two gay men say they have been denied entry into Charlotte's Gay Pride Parade because they support President Donald Trump.
According to Fox 46, Brian Talbert and another member of a group called "Gays For Trump" submitted an application to be part of the August 26-27 event. Talbert said Charlotte Pride, which is behind the event, turned down their request to have a float in the parade.
"For a group of people to claim to want tolerance, acceptance, and give it to every single person you can imagine to give it to, for them to sit back and judge me for exercising my right as an American to choose my leader without judgment is hypocritical," Talbert told the news station.
Charlotte Pride sent a statement to Fox 46 and said, in part, "Charlotte Pride reserves the right to decline participation at our events to groups or organizations which do not reflect the mission, vision and values of our organization, as is acknowledged in our parade rules and regulations by all groups at the time of their parade application. In the past, we have made similar decisions to decline participation from other organizations espousing anti-LGBTQ religious or public policy stances."
Talbert now plans to file a discrimination lawsuit against Charlotte Pride. He has raised around $4,000 to help cover his legal costs.
Gays For Trump posted a statement about the matter on its Twitter feed:
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