Seitz told the Star that he made one phone call asking to speak with the museum curator but had not heard back. See also: Missouri lawmakers refuse to remove defunct language banning gay marriage from state law
Joel Kim Booster Talks ‘Fire Island,’ Margaret Cho, and BFF Bowen Yang Ann Kelley (R-Lamar), the secretary of the House Republican Caucus, and Brian Seitz (R-Branson) for their efforts to ban the exhibit from the Capitol grounds. On Wednesday night, after the exhibit had been removed, he celebrated in a post crediting Reps. And they KNEW it would get a reaction, they just like pushing it.” “I’m so sick of always having to react to this stuff. “These are literally in-your-face banners that you can’t walk through the museum without seeing… and they’re scheduled to be there through December,” Stark wrote. Mitch Boggs (R-LaRussell), posted a complaint to Facebook, accusing the “taxpayer-funded” museum of “pushing the LGBT agenda.” On Tuesday, Uriah Stark, a legislative assistant to Rep. Instead, Razer placed the blame at the feet of Republican legislators who had complained about the exhibit, accusing them of trying to “literally put my history back in the closet.” Missouri State Capitol building – Photo: Visitjeffersoncity, via Wikimedia.īefore the exhibit was taken down, at least two Republicans and a legislative assistant who works for a GOP lawmaker had complained about its content. ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Review: Not Quite Dino Might “I want to know that this is a beautiful, vibrant, accepting community that wants you here,” he said. He added that he’s concerned about the message that removing the exhibit sends to youth who identify as LGBTQ. “To have this exhibit ripped down and shoved in a closet is offensive,” Razer said. Greg Razer (D-Kansas City), who was also skeptical of the governor’s reasoning, calling it a “convenient excuse,” noting that various exhibits rotate in and out of the museum on a regular basis. The exhibit’s removal attracted the attention of openly gay State Sen. See also: Missouri Christian school tells teachers to expel gay students or lose their jobs “We agree the history of all Missourians is an important story that needs to be told.” “We apologize for the way this unfolded,” Buntin wrote. The Missouri State Capitol Commission will coordinate the exhibit at the new location, rather than the Board of Public Buildings, he added. In a statement on Friday, Dru Buntin, the director of the Department of Natural Resources, told the Times the exhibit was being relocated to the Lohman Building at the Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, where the Missouri State Museum has another location. Additionally, according to The New York Times, John Cunning, a former director of the Missouri State Museum, noted that he had never once had to seek out permission from the Board of Public Buildings before putting up any display during his 24 years overseeing the museum. Jones said the governor was not aware of the exhibit, but became aware of it after receiving “several complaints” about it.Īccording to the Kansas City Star, the Board of Public Buildings last met in July, but minutes from meetings dating back to 2015 show the board never discussed the content of state museum exhibits. Team DC’s “Night OUT at the Nationals” Scheduled for June 14 The exhibit had previously been on display at various locations around Kansas City, and was scheduled to remain in the Capitol building’s Missouri State Museum for four months until the end of December.įor the short while when the display was up, visitors to the Capitol could walk among the exhibit’s banners and learn about the history of Kansas City’s LGBTQ community, including how early day LGBTQ rights activists had organized themselves, both politically and personally, to ensure their community could survive and thrive during times when homosexual behavior was criminalized and LGBTQ were largely ostracized from the larger society. The exhibit, “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights,” which was created by historians at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, debuted last Monday at the Capitol building’s Missouri State Museum in Jefferson City. However, questions continue to abound concerning whether the exhibit’s removal was an effort to correct a procedural oversight or an attempt to placate Republican legislators and activists who balked at its content. Last week, a traveling exhibit documenting the history of the LGBTQ rights movement in Kansas City was removed from the Missouri State Capitol less than three days after it first debuted. – Photo: Missouri State Museum, via Facebook. The Lohman Building, where an LGBTQ history exhibit on Kansas City will now be housed after being removed from the Missouri State Capitol.