Several students from Bryan College – a local evangelical Christian school that held graduation the same day as the protest -- walked through and talked to the Gay Day celebrants. One struck up an hour-long discussion with Kip Williams, who drove from Knoxville to attend the event. They talked about philosophy, worldviews and their interpretation of Pauline Gospels.

The Bryan College student didn't proselytize, but seemed to try to understand Williams’ viewpoint and express his own.

Williams said he rejected the battle and warlike analogies that many in Western culture use in defining their spiritual paths. The Bryan College student said he believed any spiritual message must be presented in loving ways. But he said that he believed Satan and evil exist in the world and they must be countered.

“If you believe that I’m on the wrong path and you don’t warn me, you’re not a loving person,” Williams said.

When they parted, the two hugged and wished each other well.

Despite the humorous -- and threatening -- possibilities of having a large gay pride festival in the belly of the Bible Belt, the event itself was a little dull. Neither Ellen nor Rosie showed up. Neither did any kids brandishing paintball guns. The water bordering the park was closed to boats, and no cars were allowed to drive through the park during the event. Picket signs were prohibited, out of fear they might be used as weapons.

With volunteer police coming from all over East Tennessee, there were about 150 to 165 officers on hand, said Rocky Potter, a Rhea County Sheriff investigator. But lawbreaking was limited to a couple of Christian protesters charged with disorderly conduct outside the park and a marijuana possession charge against members of one of the bands playing at the event.

The crowds never reached the 3,000 to 5,000 organizers predicted. But over the day, they counted 893 people coming into the park, not including vendors, organizers or police.

Marcus Ellsworth, a student at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, who helped coordinate the event’s entertainment, was happy with the turnout.

“I know for a fact that a lot of people from the gay community didn’t come out,” he said. “The main reason they didn’t come out was because of fear. But I think this shows we can do this kind of thing anywhere.”

(This article originally ran in Metro Pulse, a weekly newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee. Edited and reprinted by permission of the author.)

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