Mother says Missouri amusement park would not let her son bring in LGTBQ+ Pride tote
.jpg "File photo of the Wildfire roller coaster at Silver Dollar City in Missouri.")
An amusement park in the Ozark Mountains near Branson, Missouri, is investigating a report that a guest was told he couldn’t enter the park with an LGBTQ+ Pride bag.
A mother said on Facebook that her son was told Tuesday he couldn’t bring the rainbow-hued bag into Silver Dollar City, an 1880’s theme park featuring rides and other attractions.
The woman wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post Wednesday that her son wasn’t allowed to bring the tote bag, which said “BE POWERFUL, HUMAN, LOVING, UNIQUE, INSPIRING & DESERVING” in various colors, into the amusement park.
She said someone at the gate told her son that “people don’t agree with that here,” and that he needed to turn the tote inside out or put it in his vehicle if he wanted to enter the park, she said. If he unfolded it later to display the message, the person at the gate allegedly said other staff would be alerted to kick him out.
In a statement, Silver Dollar City said it was aware of the post and investigated the incident by identifying and contacting the guest, reviewing entry security footage and interviewing team members who were working that day.
“It’s important to us that every team member and guest is treated with love and respect, regardless of their beliefs, values, sexual orientation, age, or background,” the park wrote.
The park stated the actions described in the post do not align with the company’s values, policies or team member training.
Park officials later said they found security footage of the individuals holding the bag right-side-out as they walked through the park. Security officials told investigators that the individuals were, in fact, asked to cover t-shirts that violated the park’s dress code. However, the park did not immediately provide specific details about those alleged violations.
The group complied with the request to cover their t-shirts and continued into the park, officials said. Following their investigation, park officials maintained no guest was asked to leave the premises or turn a bag inside out.
According to its dress code, the park does not allow clothing that may be “offensive or inappropriate,” including anything with “profanity or suggestive material.”
The park does not make specific references to LGBTQ+-related apparel in its policy.
“I think it’s pretty outrageous,” said Lynne Jaben Bratcher, a discrimination and civil rights attorney in Independence, in reference to the alleged incident.
The Missouri Human Rights Act isn’t clear about whether or not it protects gay and transgender rights, but if the family took the case to court and could prove it, they could have a good chance of winning, she said.
If substantiated, the incident at Silver Dollar City could count as discrimination in a public accommodation against a protected class, as described in the state’s human rights act.
Under the current state law, race, religion, national origin, ancestry and sex are considered protected statuses. Advocates have tried to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the discrimination law for more than a decade, to no avail.
This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 2:32 PM.
