BLOUNT COUNTY, TN – The Blount County PRIDE Community faced backlash from local protesters today on July 30, 2022. The protests gathered across the street to “sing their song.” Pastor Ken makes view statements below for FetchYourNews.

To begin, Pastor Ken Peters from Lenior City and works for the Patriot Church.

Statements

He said,” I think Maryville has a BIG first amendment problem. We came out here to peacefully assemble and we had no place to do it other than this church. It is totally anti-first amendment if they are going to do a big PRIDE event then we ought to be able to say we do not approve of it.”

Continuing, he said, “I would prefer they not even be here because of degression in the County.”

FetchYourNews asked Pastor Ken about how he felt about people’s privacy and church vs. state.

He continues, “There’s a certain right to privacy. But these guys are not looking for privacy over here and they are right in the buckle of the ‘Bible Belt’ of the city. Under the first amendment, we ought to be able to come out as Christians. These policemen threatened to have me arrested. To their credit, I was a little feisty with them and I brought up the potential arrest.”

Pastor Ken said,” Thank God for the pastor of this church because if he would have kicked us off, we would’ve had nowhere to go and that’s what it is about. We don’t have a place to protest. The PRIDE Community did reserve a hill for us to protest but we did not contact Maryville City in advance. We had no time to get permits but since I am an American, I can walk on city property and peacefully assemble.”

Concluding, the protesters continued to pray outside of the church and did not get violent with anyone.