BY THE VILLAGE SUN | A “Drag Story Hour” at the L.G.B.T. Center on Sunday morning sponsored by state Attorney General Letitia James was marred by an angry protest outside.
According to the New York Post, the event drew around 40 protesters but also 100 supporters. There were police on hand, as well as City Council security staff.
A police spokesperson told The Village Sun the total number of protesters and counterprotesters was actually a bit lower than what the Post reported.
About a dozen families with children listened to drag queens read children’s books inside the center, at 208 W. 13th St., west of Seventh Avenue.
Observe the contrast between the vicious hate outside today’s Drag Story Hour, and the love and positivity inside. Awful that the families were exposed to it on their way in. Thank you @NewYorkStateAG for hosting this reading event at @LGBTCenterNYC today! pic.twitter.com/uy22dmw5L0
— Erik Bottcher (@ebottcher) March 20, 2023
The Post reported that at least one “unruly protester” was arrested, and that a group of Police Department motorcycles escorted an alleged member of the Proud Boys ring-wing group to safety during the noisy flap.
The police spokesperson confirmed there was one arrest, around 11 a.m., of Robert Porco, 53, a resident of Fishkill, N.Y. Porco allegedly was arguing with someone over “Drag Story Hour” and punched him in the face. The victim refused treatment at the scene. The spokesperson did not have information about a Proud Boy allegedly being ushered away from the protest.
Councilmember Erik Bottcher posted video of the event and protest to Twitter. The clip includes an irate member of Gays for Trump berating Bottcher, saying, “God only knows what you’re reading to them. What kind of sexually explicit material are you reading to them, Erik?
“Are they twerking?” the outraged man demands to know. “Are the drag queens twerking in front of them?”
Instead the video shows a festively dressed and bewigged drag queen calmly reading aloud passages from a children’s book, such as, “Love yourself. Love the world,” with the kids and parents then repeating the words afterward.
Another protester in the video accuses someone, possibly a drag queen, of being a “crackhead” and — perhaps inspired by some wordplay in a children’s book — shouts at Bottcher, “Bitcher! Bottcher! Butcher!”
In a caption to his tweet, the councilmember simply stated, “Observe the contrast between the vicious hate outside today’s Drag Story Hour, and the love and positivity inside. Awful that the families were exposed to it on their way in. Thank you @NewYorkStateAG for hosting this reading event at @LGBTCenterNYC today!”
In December, Bottcher’s home and office were vandalized by anti-“Drag Story Hour” protesters, explaining the presence of the City Council sergeant-at-arms detail at Sunday’s event.
Separately, a punk rock group made up of trans women members was simultaneously performing a few blocks away at the AIDS Memorial at the St. Vincent’s Triangle. They also had some children’s books displayed, including “The Pronoun Book” and “Beyond the Gender Binary.”
These drag queens are worse than the sodomites from Sodom & Gomorrah. Jesus said if his preaching were taught in Sodom, they would have repented. These wicked perverts won’t repent & are trying to corrupt innocent kids with their disgusting ways! Leave those kids alone! Jesus Christ will judge every one according to their works. Homosexuals do not inherit the kingdom of God. They’ll be judged even harder for hurting the minds of innocent kids. Jesus said those who do this will wish they were never born.
complete self-hating nonsense from an ill-informed christian person… there are many religions, cultures and value systems around the world. grow up. and get some education.
Although drag queens are not my interest or issue, I would note that several relatives – who are lifelong liberals/progressives/active in social justice etc – have wondered why it is OK for men to dress up in a way that objectifies women?
One thing to have done in the 1960s 1970s etc as political protest or entertainment, but in current times they feel that wearing objectifying clothing is a diss of women.