The town of North Brookfield, Massachusetts, has agreed to "refrain from future interference and alter permitting process" after it was sued for trying to block this year's Small Town Pride, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
Two members of the select board unlawfully blocked a permit for the June 29 event because it included a drag show, the ACLU of Massachusetts said.
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The town has stripped the select board of its powers to approve all future events in local parks and will pay damages and attorneys' fees, the ACLU of Massachusetts said.
The Rural Justice Network requested permission in October to host its fourth annual Pride event on the North Brookfield Town Common in June of this year. A month later, during a board meeting, the chair and then-vice chair denied Rural Justice Network's request becuase of the drag show, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts.
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The decision then led to an ACLU lawsuit in December, claiming a "pattern of discriminatory treatment, violations of free expression and assembly rights, and unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender."
"We are pleased for the assurance that this settlement affords our clients, as well as compensation for harms caused by the unlawful interference by two Select Board members," Ruth Bourquin, senior managing attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, wrote in an release Monday.
The same board members tried to deny Rural Justice Network the right to include drag shows in its Pride event last year.
