By Mike Lednovich
Fernandina Beach Pride has quickly pivoted, replacing bingo with various games for this Friday’s Drag Queen Bingo event, after Citizens Defending Freedom successfully won its bingo objection on legal grounds.
Pride is holding the event, which is a fundraiser for college scholarships, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Course clubhouse.
CDF Executive Director Jack Knocke objected to the bingo event in emails to city officials, citing the lack of a required ordinance in place authorizing the bingo game. After researching Knocke’s assertion, City Attorney Tammi Bach agreed. It’s unclear whether CDF will object to other planned bingo events at city facilities. Knocke did not respond to requests for comment.
After the city’s ruling, Pride President Genece Minshew issued the following press release:
“Fernandina Beach Pride regularly holds events with a triple mission: serving up fun and entertainment for the community, enhancing LGBTQ awareness and – most important – raising much needed funds for scholarship and sponsorship programs, ours and others.
“Success reaching all three goals has been remarkable. One of our most popular events has been Drag Queen Bingo, we hosted to sold out crowds at the City Golf Course Clubhouse in 2021 and a local hotel in 2022. No issues. No concerns from the community.
“Today, much national and state focus is being placed on all activities supported by the LGBTQ community and our allies. That focus has now put Fernandina Beach Pride in the spotlight; all our activities are being challenged by a local ultra right-wing fringe organization. This group tried to stop our parade and festival scheduled for June 10. They failed. Their next move was to: stop us from fundraising via this year’s Drag Queen Bingo at the City Golf Course Clubhouse.
“In order to maintain our commitment to scholarship funds and the success of the city-owned venue, we will be hosting a No Bingo evening of fun and games at the City Golf Course Clubhouse on Friday, May 19 at 7 p.m.
“As with our previous Drag Queen Bingo events, this one is also sold out. While we will not be calling out numbers, we will be having great fun enjoying the evening with spectacular drag queens plus good food and drink, all in the company of our many friends and supporters from here in Fernandina Beach and Nassau County.”
Knocke and CDF previously tried to block the June 10 Pride Parade and Festival at Central Park. They were unsuccessful. Knocke has stated that CDF is not anti-gay, but CDF objects to the use of city facilities for LGBTQ+ events.
Seriously, I can’t believe you have to have an ordinance in place to play bingo at any facility, city owned or not. That’s way too much government!
Not 100% sure but – if it involves cash or prizes, often counts as “game of chance” which is regulated like other forms of casino gaming, etc.
It’s my understanding the ordinance refers to calling numbers. Worry not. Pride was calling songs.
Good point about whether Jack Knocke and the Citizens Defending White Christian Nationalism will oppose other bingo games on city property, or if, as we all rather suspect, it was just a ploy to stop another gay event. Also, I have to wonder about the ferocity of Knocke’s anti-gay vehemence; what is he suppressing that he has to focus so much on everything gay?
You just don’t get it. It’s not the gay event at all but, the drag queen crap exposure to children.
Exactly
Yes And then parents have to explain what’s going on to the children who are just young I really don’t understand-it’s unbelievable how selfish the gay community is Toy want to have a picnic at a children’s park
Not a picnic, a drag show…men pretending to be hyper sexualized charactitures of women. Not a family friendly event. If you want to see a hyper sexualized drag show go to a 21 and over nightclub, they are everywhere
Agreed !!
thank you Missyjean
You are an actual moron
Really?? Do kids watch tv?? Do kids recognize differences in other kids and adults ??? You are fooling yourself if you think children have on blinders.
It’s not a children’s park! It’s a perk for ALL residents!
You are seriously a moron
The park is for everyone. Until this CCDF group came upon the island there they had Pride Parades and Festivals in the park. There is no place on this island for hate and anger and FAKE Christians.
Drag Queen bingo is 21 and over so the “protect the children” argument is misplaced. But let’s get honest here, it’s not about the children, but that line makes you seem like a sensitive human. It’s really about silencing a community that’s different than yours, no matter how you spin it.
Keep spinning if you must, we are not going anywhere!
There were no children. It was an evening event. CDF does not care about freedom. It’s all about canceling events held by people “different” from the radical, white, “christian” right haters that use freedom as a tool to brainwash the uninformed.
What is White Christian Nationalism?People of EUROPEAN decent who love The and USA and love God, this has NOTHING to do with hate or bigotry and has everything to do with believing in the amazing experiment that is the USA CONSTITUTION and our Bill of rights! Which includes God, Family Country and giving EVERYONE EQUAL opportunity rights to be what they want to be as long as they DON’T infringe on others rights! Don’t believe everything you hear in the news about 90% is all lies to cause division among We The People so the government can have more control and take more of YOUR money! Read and Listen to British (and GAY) Author Douglas Murray he lays this case out especially well in his book ‘Madness of Crowds’
Personal Note: no one cares how full grown adults live their lives (gay, straight, bi, furry, whatever) just stop sexualizing our children!
Unity,Criticism,Unity.
Oh my God! And now you’re espousing the European roots of the USA – a tribe who landed and then brutally tried to eliminate the original inhabitants. Give me a Drag Queen any time.
So are you a white Christian nationalist?
THEY ARE NOT SEXUALIZING CHILDREN. THAT IS A MYTH THAT IS DANGEROUS AND AS I SAID…A MYTH
It’s about exposing our children
They need to keep their sexual orientation private
Your moron is showing!
Maybe Knocke is actually a closet gay, and trying to hide and suppress it by being rabidly anti-gay.
They did not. There was another Bingo fundraiser on the the 20th. No challenges. It’s never been about the Bingo or the Kids.
Knocke it off!
Hilarious! 🙂
Drag Queen Bingo? Fernandina Beach we need to get serious about protecting children and their innocence! Drag and Trans is a Trojan horse for government to impose their will on you and control more aspects of our lives…Read ‘Madness of Crowds’ by the renowned British (and gay) author Douglas Murray and you will understand this concept! He also has lots of videos on YouTube if you prefer you can watch him speak on this and many more interesting topics about the USA and World cultures and governments.
So, how long have you been opposing drag events? They’ve been going on for years and years.
I am not opposed to drag shows where they belong in and adult nightclub, I have been myself with friends in SF for a good laugh…what I oppose is having these men who are hyper sexualized charactitures of women around children and in any sort of ‘Family Friendly’ social environment. There is a time and place for everything and everyone and Drag Shows time and place is far away from kids and family friendly events and places. Just like I would not want heterosexual women dressed as stripper’s at these types of places and events.
People need to keep their sexual orientation private
do not impose it on our young children
or adults that don’t agree with their lifestyle
I sure hope you all who are so concerned about protecting children are just as adamant about gun control. Guns are the Number One killer of children in this country.
Very adamant and our 2A rights, this is the ONLY way we can protect our children from the lawlessness happening all around us when the government fails to hold criminals accountable. This is the BIGGEST blessing our US Constitutional ForeFathers gave us(other than our Freedom Speech that is, 2A protects the 1A), the ability to protect our families ourselves from criminals who will NEVER obey the law and from the overreach of government which has happened is every other country in the world causing massive tragedies we the people of American will hopefully NEVER have to experience. So called ‘gun control’ laws only emboldened the criminal cartels and punish law abiding citizens who want to protect their own children and family from the criminals. Thank you God for the USA and the wisdom of our forefathers!
Wow, stupidity at its worst.
Morons being morons
BTW: Go check out the stats on CDC to see exactly what is number one killer or children it’s NOT GUNS. Also, the reason there is so much gun violence is due to the repeat offenders who are belong let out of jail by woke public defenders which actually impacts low income neighborhoods the MOST, you can also check out these stats for yourself as well. Also, most of the mass shootings were done by individuals on SSRIs another stat that should be addressed but the politicians and their propaganda media want you to think more ‘gun control’ laws on law abiding citizens is the problem. What a Joke!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated official mortality data that showed 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2020 — a new peak.1 Although previous analyses have shown increases in firearm-related mortality in recent years (2015 to 2019), as compared with the relatively stable rates from earlier years (1999 to 2014),2,3 these new data show a sharp 13.5% increase in the crude rate of firearm-related death from 2019 to 2020.1This change was driven largely by firearm homicides, which saw a 33.4% increase in the crude rate from 2019 to 2020, whereas the crude rate of firearm suicides increased by 1.1%.1 Given that firearm homicides disproportionately affect younger people in the United States,3 these data call for an update to the findings of Cunningham et al. regarding the leading causes of death among U.S. children and adolescents.4
Lets not forget the CDC removed the stats on guns being used in a self defense situation because they were pressured by anti gun groups. Typical left wing agenda..censor anything you dont agree with…..
85000 missing migrant children in this country. 85000 that can’t be accounted for. it’s not the guns.
I guess you should blame the previous president for that. He’s the one that ordered the separation.
Obama ordered it. Facts matter.
AMEN…..Mary
Exactly
Don’t be the biggest moron on this thread!
Just a few actors who have performed dressed in drag: Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Charlie Chaplin, Curly (The Three Stooges), Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Tom Hanks,… the list continues. Suddenly, it is a problem? No, bigotry is the problem.
Again, there is a time and place for everything…you can choose to watch men dressing like charactitures of hyper sexualized women just do it in a nightclub where it has been done for decades with no issue. Children have the right to grow up like we did with innocence and without having hyper sexuality in their faces at family friendly events and places. I am guessing most people in FB and most places would not want a bunch of women dressed like Hookers holding events like this, has nothing to do with bigotry sorry that BS excuse is worn out.
Well said
OOPs! I clicked “thumbs up” when I meant to click “Thumbs down”. As far as protecting children from people dressed in drag, I guess children who were allowed to watch Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, The Three Stooges, etc. had uncaring parents. ? Maybe let parents decide what events they think are appropriate.
there are no children at this event, there have never been children even proposed to be at this event. and the drag queens attending the event are NOT dressing proactively either. so what exactly is your problem with it missy jean?? a man dressed up as a woman? or are you just a bigot?
If you’d like to keep children out of a hyper sexualized environment then keep them locked up at home with no TV and no social media. I see women dressed as you say like hookers” (what a joke) every day at Walmart, the beach, downtown…everywhere. Should we enact a state wide dress code? Should we start policing what people wear to concerts…the nasty jokes on so many tshirts. I saw a someone wearing a shirt at the shrimp festival that said “I support offshore drilling” with a picture of a male behind a female bent over with his crotch mashed up against her butt…on a boat. Are you going to protest these things that are so hypersexualized…for the children. No! What you’ll say is it’s freedom of choice. This is NOT about the children.
And Flip Wilson. Don’t forget Flip and Geraldine.
All of the actors you mention were female impersonators with roles that accentuated perceived female characteristics in order to comment on humanity and current mores from an unexpected point of view. By doing so, they made the commentary/message more memorable (and acceptable) while the audience was distracted by the male in female clothing.
In none of those situations do I remember the overt emphasis on sexuality that pervades drag queen performances. It seems to me that female impersonators and drag queens are two entirely different performance categories.
Does this mean all bingo events are now to be banned in the city? It seems to me any bingo involves prizes of some kind.
I guess so. Too bad, it’s a good source of income for city. We’ll have to keep an eye on Counselor Bach to see if she’s consistent.
I had no idea Bingo was perverse. What’s been going on at all those churches playing Bingo?
When did tolerance become mandatory participation? The alphabet mafia has demanded that we tolerate, accept, celebrate and now participate. What other group gets a month to celebrate, post their flags in state, federal and embassies world wide? And yet scream the are oppressed, marginalized and victims. Time to move that Overton window.
You don’t have to celebrate or participate in anything (in fact, we’d prefer you don’t) but you do need to respect the rights of others to have lawful gatherings.
I feel like I’ve jumped back in time by about 30 years, it’s ridiculous. There are so many other things that you should focus on to protect our youth, this isn’t one of them, unless you’d like to help do something about the high suicide rate among youth in this community. Think about that for a moment, please!
Mao explains this in his teachings.
It’s time to pass a “No Knocke Community Fundraiser Law”. Any community group can hold a charitable benefit to raise funds for the greater good of FB. Be it; Bingo, Raffles, walks, runs, food, fashion…
I am so tired of the fear-mongers spreading hate over other groups. Your children are going to learn and copy your hate, and later they will discover how wrong and sad you are.
Aren’t you tired of judging others?
Pot. Kettle.
What next Missyjean – going after pirates and wenches?
and handing out bead necklaces. That might make your sons gay.
A fave online vid is the one where the Drag Queens are giving middle school kids lap dances. Warms my heart to see that type of inclusive behavior..
The Committee to Defend Freedom omitted the last part of their name: Freedom for Those Who Think Like Us.
Actually it’s (right wing) Christians Denying Freedom.
Fernandina Beach Pride owes Knocke and his CDF a BBBIIIGGG Thank You. That group has done more to raise awareness of the LGBTQ community than thousands of marketing dollars could have done. I’ll be at the parade & the park & am sorry the Golf Course event is sold out before I could get a ticket.
How sad. No bingo in a confined area and allowing the festival is ridiculous. Good God! Leave these events be already. How can the city even be involved in this.
Let’s be real, it is not about the kids. The bingo event always has been 18+ years old only. Stop with the likes, Knocke….just own the hate you are spewing.
*lies, not likes! Stop with the lies, Knocke!
I’m sure the trees act as a sound barrier so can you imagine what it would be like without the canopy of trees for many home owners?!?! Hmmm, especially for those near the airport.
Bottom line: If you are opposed to the Pride Festival STAY HOME and teach your children your gospel. Allow others who are educated to go and take their families. One day of the year….do something else. STOP proselytizing.