Mayor said Pride events celebrate “sin & brokenness” as he allegedly harassed venues hosting them

The mayor of Owatonna, Minnesota has been accused of “distressing and disappointing behavior” by a local LGBTQ+ organization, which is now calling for his resignation.

The Star Tribune reports that Rainbowatonna founder and chair Nathan Black sent an open letter to Mayor Tom Kuntz and members of the Owatonna City Council earlier this month calling out the mayor’s attempts to “harass and intimidate” venues hosting the organization’s July 8 Pride events, as well as “an overwhelmingly bigoted prayer” Kuntz wrote and posted on social media.

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In his letter, Black noted that Rainbowatonna faced anti-LGBTQ+ backlash from members of the community who objected to the group’s second annual Pride celebration, which included an all-ages Pride in the Park celebration at Morehouse Park Pavilion, a Pride Worship Service at Associated Church, and an adults-only drag show in the evening.

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According to a June 20th press release, the group was forced to relocate its drag show after the original venue, Torey’s Restaurant and Bar, received harassment from “a very vocal minority” opposed to the event. In the open letter, Black wrote that he later learned that Kuntz “went to Torey’s and made some complaints about the drag show being hosted there.”

Black also wrote that on June 27, Kuntz went to Associated Church to object to the Pride Worship Service, allegedly asking a staff member whether there would be “stripper poles in the sanctuary” during the religious service.

Black included screenshots of an email exchange between himself and Kuntz about the Pride Worship Service. On June 29, Kuntz wrote to Black from his personal email address. “As a christian [sic] I just want to encourage all of us to follow Gods [sic] commandments and am hoping your service follows Gods [sic] words,” Kuntz wrote.

Black forwarded the email to Kuntz’s Owatonna city email address, and after confirming that the initial message was from the mayor, reassured him that “the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ will be proclaimed joyfully at the Pride Worship service.” Black invited Kuntz to attend and asked that the mayor issue a proclamation declaring July 8, 2023, “‘Rainbowatonna Day’ in honor of our LGBTQ+ citizens and neighbors.”

Kuntz declined to attend and refused to issue a proclamation.

Black’s initial letter did not call for Kuntz’s resignation. But he updated the letter on July 11, after learning of a prayer Kuntz had written and posted to his personal social media.

“We pray for wisdom as we know of upcoming public events where sin and brokenness will be celebrated and where sexually explicit acts will be normalized,” Kuntz wrote, according to a screenshot of the prayer included in Black’s letter. “We pray that these public acts would not draw in young children or impressionable teens with curiosity.”

Black described the prayer as “overwhelmingly bigoted.”

“The only satisfactory response from Mayor Kuntz is his immediate resignation,” he wrote in the update. “There is no place for homophobic bigotry in city government.”

According to the Owatonna People’s Press, Kuntz, who has been mayor of Owatonna since 2004, issued a statement in response to Black’s open letter claiming that he had not intended to harass or intimidate anyone and offering his apologies.

Kuntz confirmed Black’s account of his conversation with the Associated Church staffer. “A couple people asked if there was going to be pole dancing, so I asked that,” Kuntz said.

He also confirmed the email exchange with Black about the church service. “I’m a Christian, and I believe that this is not something God would approve of, so I voiced my concerns to make sure that it was following God’s words,” he told the People’s Press. “Drag shows and stuff like that, in my family’s opinion, is an influence on the younger generation. I think it confuses them of what a man and a woman are supposed to do. Gay Pride, in my opinion, is referencing two women and two men in a relationship. My Bible tells me a man is supposed to take a woman and start a family from that.”

And Kuntz confirmed that he had visited Torey’s Restaurant and Bar to ask about the drag show after it was moved to another venue. “It was just a clarification,” Kuntz claimed. “It was not good, bad, or indifferent. I was not complaining to [owner Torey Statlander].”

But Black said that Kuntz’s actions indicate “his pattern of activism against the LGBTQ+ community.”

Black said that he takes no issue with Kuntz’s personal religious beliefs, but with what he sees as the mayor’s “interfere with a religious service” in his capacity as an elected official.

“Every interaction he had he was introducing himself as the mayor,” Black told the Star Tribune.

Kuntz admitted to the People’s Press that he “may have overstepped” by introducing himself as the mayor when speaking to the Associated Church staffer.

Black said that he was unsatisfied with Kuntz’s apology. He told the Star Tribune that he fears the mayor’s actions may stir up prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community in Owatonna, where he said that LGBTQ+ people have had Pride flags ripped down and their homes egged.

“There are real consequences to his actions when they’re so public,” Black said. He added that the Rainbowatonna board planned to invite Kuntz to a public sit-down discussion.

“This is not about destroying Mayor Tom Kuntz,” Black told the People’s Press. “It is about holding him accountable for his actions. Given his experience in leadership and government, and his awareness of a need for equality and diversity in our community, there is no excuse.”