A Massachusetts town official seeking to criminally background check drag queens set to perform at a pride event later this month has seen his request create a stir, with colleagues calling the proposal “discriminatory.”

North Reading is slated to hold a fifth-annual “pride ride” on June 22, with “drag entertainers” on hand for festivities at Ipswich River Park following a procession of vehicles through the Middlesex County town.

Select Board member Nick Masse drew outrage during a meeting this week when he requested that drag queens be CORI checked and that the event organizers pay for a police detail. Fellow members shot down both proposals.

“This event is in a public space marketed as a family-friendly event,” Masse said at Monday’s meeting. “This event is going to have drag queens, which are, maybe, inappropriate for public land. These are people, if they’re going to perform on public property in front of children, then I would ask for them to be CORI’ed. It’s as simple as that.”

The proposal drew immediate reaction from residents attending the meeting and sharp debate on the board.

Chairman Stephen J. O’Leary slammed Masse for “singling this group of people out,” labeling the request as “unethical” and drag queens as “no threat.”

“You’re stereotyping them with no statistical data that indicates that these individuals have any more proclivity towards your concern for children, than anybody else in this community,” O’Leary said.

Masse said he based his recommendation on drag queens performing “half-naked” and “in front of children.” “While a select few people may be insulted or hurt,” he said, “this is me looking after something that comes across public property.”

News outlet Off The Press first reported Masse’s proposal and the ensuing Select Board debate. A post on X that included a clip of Masse explaining his request has drawn nearly 16,000 views, with people backing the ask.

During Monday’s debate, board clerk Catherine Morrin asked what purpose a CORI check for drag queens would serve, since parents would be with their children. She highlighted that criminal background checks are needed when there is “extended, unsupervised contact with minors to whom you are not related.”

“We should let the parents decide whether or not they’re bringing their kids,” Morrin said, “and if they do, let the parental judgment dictate what their children see.”

Masse responded, “I don’t know why I’m getting so much pushback.” A resident in attendance shouted, “You’re being discriminatory. That’s why, and you know it. … You have no decorum.”