Dallas Pride Institutes Dress Code

The organizers of Dallas Pride have notified parade participants that nudity and lewd behavior will not be permitted at this year's event.  John Wright reports at the Dallas Voice:

Michael Doughman, executive director of the Dallas Tavern Guild, which puts on the parade, called the controversy “much ado about nothing” and said the reminder came from law enforcement, not his organization. But a co-commander over security for the Pride parade and festival did little to quell the controversy when he warned that those who violate indecency statutes in front of children can be charged with felonies.

Daniel Cates, North Texas regional coordinator for GetEQUAL, brought the controversy to many people’s attention when he posted a scathing critique on Facebook of the “new rules,” which he alleged were fueled by an “increasing number of attending heterosexuals and corporate sponsorship[s].”

“The ‘queer’ is effectively being erased from our Pride celebration in favor of the most polished, heteronormative representation of our community as possible,” Cates wrote. “It should be noted that the rioters at the Stonewall Inn fought to break OUT of the damn closet! Our movement was built of sex positivity and our desire to BE WHO WE ARE! I urge you ALL to openly DEFY the Tavern Guild!”

The openly gay Dallas Police Department liaison to the LGBT community says that decency standards will be monitored during the parade's line-up period. Those who fail to comply with the new standards before reaching the parade route risk being charged.