OWATONNA, Minn. — Members of an LGBTQ group are calling on the mayor of a southern Minnesota town to meet their demands, or resign, after he asked pastors at a church holding a Pride event if there would be stripper poles at the church. sanctuary and posted a public prayer alluding to “sin and brokenness” at the event.
in a open letter Mayor Tom Kuntz, a Republican, and the Owatonna City Council, Rainbowatonna organizer Nathan Black said Kuntz used his elected position to harass and intimidate people involved in the city’s July 8 Pride celebration. , the Star Tribune informed. The Pride celebration included a service at Associated Church, festivities at a pavilion and a drag after-party at the Owatonna Arts Center.
In his public letter, Black said Kuntz spoke with the church’s pastors about two weeks before the service. He said the mayor seemed upset and asked several “weird” questions, including whether there would be stripper poles at the sanctuary. Black said he wasn’t concerned about the mayor’s behavior until later, when he found out that Kuntz posted a sentence he wrote on social media last month.
In the prayer, Kuntz asked for wisdom ahead of upcoming public events “where sin and brokenness will be celebrated and sexually explicit acts normalized.” Kuntz did not name a specific event, but asked for prayer “through July 8,” according to the Star Tribune.
Black initially called for the mayor’s immediate resignation, saying, “There is no place for homophobic bigotry in city government.”
But Black told The Associated Press that the Rainbowatonna members met with Kuntz on Monday and planned another meeting later this week. Members of the group are asking Kuntz for an apology “that acknowledges the impact of his actions,” along with diversity and sensitivity training for the mayor and city staff, Black said.
They are also asking Kuntz to name a Rainbowatonna board member to the city’s human rights commission, among other measures.
“If he meets these demands, and we expect him to, then we will withdraw that request” for his resignation, Black said.
An email sent to the mayor was not returned Monday.
But in a public response, Kuntz told Black: “I did what I thought was the right thing to do.”
He added: “My intention was not to harass or intimidate anyone. My words were my own and not the City’s. I try every day to follow my own faith and beliefs, but I also recognize that other people have the right to follow their own faith and beliefs as well. … Please accept my apologies.”
Kuntz, who has been mayor since 2004, said he reached out to Black and offered to speak on the issue. Last week, Kuntz confirmed parts of Black’s letter to the Owatonna People’s Press and said: “A couple of people asked if there was going to be pole dancing, so I asked that.”
He also said that he felt that God would not approve of drag shows and homosexuality.
