A cloud of noise rose above Mansfield's city square Saturday as some 200 or so people were in and out through the early afternoon, crowding in opposing protest camps in support of and opposed to a cancelled Pride month event. Sides were closely matched with more in the Pride opposed crowd at the start of the day. Sermons and the singing of hymms from that side met speeches and chants from the other.
Jonathan Betancourt described himself as the Master of Ceremonies for the side organized in opposition to the public Pride event, led by a group called the “Mansfield Community Values Alliance.” They’d invited local church congregations. Betancourt said he and his cause were supporting traditional Christian values, which he said are representative of Mansfield
“We want everyone, because we love our neighbors as ourselves, to know that truth,” he said. “They might see it as hate but so be it. The reality is we're not all going to agree, but we have to stand to our convictions just like they do. But we're on the side of truth, and the goal is to pray that they would come to believe that truth and be changed, but also to defend what is right here in Mansfield.”
Theresa Nicolosi organized the Pride event cancelled by the city, and the protest Saturday.
“We're just trying to exist, trying to live our lives, trying to have the same access to the square that they have for their prayer each week,” she said. “we just want to be accepted. And if they don't want to join us, at least let us be and let us have our events. That's really all I can say. We we just want to be able to exist with each other and enjoy each other's company.”
Both sides expressed concern with how the city handled cancelling the previously scheduled Pride event, after a resident associated with the Alliance claimed he had booked every weekend in June earlier in the year. The city has not yet responded to a request for comment from KSMU.
Nicolosi said the city’s actions and how they handled the issue show they are unfriendly to the LGBTQ+ community. She plans to attend the next city meeting.
For nearly two hours Saturday both sides shared the square, with the chants of the Pride community waxing and waning and interspersed with speeches delivered by blowhorn.
The Alliance community had arrived earlier and strung their banner on the square’s gazebo space. They spoke over a speaker system with a series of testimonies and hymns. Pride protesters convened at a corner of the square and pushed forward and marched around the gazebo at times; both sides’ speakers occasionally addressed each other directly. A few tense moments were resolved civilly where the sides met. At least one disagreement ended in a hug. A police officer from the city watched mostly from the edge of the park as bystanders looked on from a few of the businesses lining the square.
Two visitors from Florida had no idea what was going on when they planned their afternoon. They said they enjoyed their time, but they thought the event was probably keeping other people from the square.
A resident watching who spoke off the record said he believed in a “live and let live” philosophy and said anyone should be able to rent out a public space like the square. He said he was glad nothing bad had happened.
Everyone agreed that the city was partially at fault for not handling the situation well, and heightening tensons. Both sides also agreed that many of the pro-Pride protesters were from outside Mansfield. Nicolosi said her Mansfield group had been counter-protested in the past regardless, and support from outside helped make her community brave.
“Groups like GLO and PFLAG. They actually support all of southwest Missouri,” she explained. “West Plains Pride is here. Lebanon Pride is here. They're our neighbors. They're not Springfield or St. Louis. They've had the same struggles as us. They're just a few years ahead of us.”
Both sides said their message was a message of love.
“We can disagree and still have love and not resort to demeaning moralism,” Betancourt said, explaining negative attacks come from both sides. “The church has fallen into that as well as the other side,” he said. “So maybe this is a step in vigorous, loving debate.”
Their differences remained irreconcilable on Saturday, as both sides wrapped up and departed as scheduled, returning a veil of quiet to the square, ending an eventful afternoon for the city of 1500.