Gay PETA V.P. to Lead Protest of Pride Aquarium Party

Controversial Event Subjects Sound-Sensitive Marine Mammals to Painful, Pounding Dance Music

For Immediate Release:
October 10, 2013

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Atlanta — As Atlanta Pride workers set up for Friday night’s blowout at the Georgia Aquarium, PETA members will picket outside with signs that read, “Celebrate Freedom, Not Captivity.” Led by gay PETA Vice President Dan Mathews, the group will protest Atlanta Pride’s closed-door decision to hold its annual party at the controversial aquarium. The U.N.’s marine biologists agree with PETA that confining sophisticated marine mammals is cruel because they’re constantly bombarded by their own sonar, which bounces off the tiny tank walls.

When:   Friday, October 11, 12 noon–1 p.m.

Where:  Outside the Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker St. N.W. (at the intersection with Luckie Street N.W.), Atlanta

Mathews explains his decision to protest the Pride party in an essay just published in The Gay & Lesbian Review. Mathews was told by three aquarium exhibit guides that loud music agitates both the marine and land animals to the point that they begin to attack each other. The protesters will also hold giant “Move Pride” posters featuring gay icons Tim Gunn and Jane Lynch, who have both urged festival organizers to move the event to another Atlanta hotspot.

“It makes no sense to celebrate freedom in a building that promotes captivity,” says Mathews.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.