BARLTESVILLE, Okla. — The Bartlesville City Council voted Tuesday to direct staff to develop possible actions in the wake of the city’s Pride celebration.

According to the city, the council voted 4-1 to develop potential actions “that could result in one or more municipal ordinances regulating ‘adult entertainment’ in public spaces.

This vote came after months of debate between Bartlesville citizens over a Pride event, sponsored by Oklahomans for Equality-Bartlesville, in Unity-Square Park. The Pride event was held in September and included a drag show.

During a city council meeting in October 2022, a Bartlesville resident presented an online petition, with 2,000 signatures to request the council take action. The city said these signatures are considered non-verified.

The petition asked the council to “determine if this activity violated any state laws, city ordinances, or city contracts for use of public areas and if so, to take appropriate action. If no laws or ordinances were broken, and no current contracts violated, then I ask you to study this issue and consider a new city ordinance to prohibit adult-oriented activity from happening in our public areas again.”

Hundreds of people attended council meetings since October in regards to the Pride event, according to the city. Bartlesville city staff said they spent several months “attempting to negotiate an agreement between the parties, but those negotiations broke down [in December] after the petitioner withdrew from discussions.”

The council voted to authorize Bartlesville City Attorney Jess Kane to obtain outside counsel, with expertise in constitutional law, to assist for drafting possible options for municipal ordinances.

Correction: A previous version of this story indicated the 2022 Pride event was the first one hosted in Bartlesville. The September 2022 Pride event was the second one hosted in the city. The article has been updated with the most accurate, up-to-date information.

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