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Charlotte’s gay pride festival to get extra security

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Officials in North Carolina have declared Charlotte’s gay pride festival later this month is an extraordinary event that requires extra security.

City officials say the decision allows them to ban backpacks and regular items that can be used as weapons, such as chains and box cutters at the Aug. 20-21 event. It also allows police more latitude to stop and search people.

The decision comes less than two months after 49 people were killed in a shooting at The Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Charlotte passed the extraordinary event ordinance in 2012 before the Democratic National Convention. It has been used for Bank of America and Duke Energy shareholder meetings and NFL playoff games. This is the first time it has been used for the gay pride festival.

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