HANDS ON IS HANDS OFF
In an effort to educate the community, the Pride Festival Committee has decided to release the following information.
The committee is very proud to report great progress toward Lexington’s 5th Pride Festival. As always, the committee gathered quotes for t-shirt printing. Since Hands On Originals provided the best quote, the committee voted to accept their quote. However, Hands On Originals called Pride’s merchandise director, to say they had to decline the job. They reported that due to being a Christian organization they could not print things related to the Pride Festival. This discrimination is the first real setback the Pride Committee has faced. Members of the committee displayed shock. Many wondered if perhaps the economy had gotten better since Hands On could turn down a sale. Pride Festival chair Paul Brown questioned, “Where in Christian doctrine does it suggest that Christians should openly discriminate? What about ‘love thy neighbor’?” Ultimately, the Committee decided the best reaction was not to lie down and cry but to educate the community about the discrimination still present in Lexington and let the community decide where they want to spend their hard-earned money. On a positive note, two other companies are stepping up to print the t-shirts. The offer of these two companies will bring the printing cost in several hundred dollars below budget. While discrimination is still alive and vibrant, so is progress.
