(Petersburg, Ky.) - A gay couple says they paid for tickets, but were denied admission to an event at the Creation Museum in Petersburg.
The Kentucky Enquirer reports the couple planned to attend a Date Night event at the Christianity-centered museum on February 11.
One of the people reportedly involved, John Meador, is a blogger for alternative publication LEO Weekly in Louisville.
Three of us (myself, my girlfriend and our friend Brandon) passed the security checkpoint despite minor scrutiny. We arrived right at 6:00 p.m.; (Creation Museum founder) Ken Ham was just beginning his talk of love in the museums special effects room, and we were eager to hear it. Brandons date, Joe (Sonka) of Barefoot & Progressive, was late, and so the solo Brandon was the focus of much interest for the two guards, who carried the air of actual police, Meador wrote on the blog.
Museum operator Answers in Genesis said in a Feb. 15 web posting of its own that Joe Sonka planned the stunt well in advance, even asking for donations for tickets to the event on his blog.
Mr. Sonka deliberately wanted to manufacture a scene at our special event by being flamboyantly disruptive, Answers in Genesis said.
Museum officials say the group was just trying to cause controversy and it was clear the event was for heterosexual couples only.