Woman, 74, charged for preacher kiss at Pride event

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A 74-year-old North Carolina woman was charged with assault for kissing an anti-gay preacher demonstrating at a Pride event.

Joan Parker attended the festivities in Salisbury, North Carolina with her husband along with approximately 2,000 other attendees. There were approximately 200 people protesting the festival.

“He was just waving his arms and has a Bible in one hand, up and down, and screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘sodomites’ and ‘you’re going to hell.’ I thought he needed a hug. So I gave him a hug,” Parker told the Associated Press.

After giving the hug, she placed a peck on the James Edward Belcher’s cheek before walking away.

Belcher told the Associated Press that she gave him a hug and a kiss and it was “just one of many attempts to silence the preaching to those in need of salvation who practice a death style that they call a lifestyle.”

Parker will appear in court in September and could face up to 30 days of community service.