Franklin Graham stands up for parents objecting to drag queen story hours in libraries
Evangelical leader Franklin Graham is lauding the efforts of parents and concerned community activists who are protesting efforts to bring the Drag Queen Story Hour to their local libraries.
"Men in full drag reading books to kids at the public library? No wonder people are protesting!," Graham said in a Facebook post on Thursday in response to an AL.com article about pushback in the South against drag queens reading books to children such as one titled Stella Brings the Family, about a girl who takes her two dads to a Mother's Day celebration.
"Drag Queen Story Hours have been held at libraries or book stores the last couple of years in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, and New York. Now it has come to the South, and some are protesting — a librarian is reported to have even resigned over the issue," Graham added.
The president of a library board in Lafayette, Louisiana, resigned following debate over plans to hold a Drag Queen Story Hour in October, which Mayor Joel Robideaux has suggested might be canceled, according to AL.com.
Concerned parents and community activists protested outside a library in Columbus, Georgia, that hosted the event in August.
A group called Common Sense Campaign Tea Party called on concerned parents to protest Saturday at a public library in Mobile, Alabama, that is hosting the event.
The Christian Post earlier reported on the Drag Queen Story Hour as efforts were being made to emulate the Drag Queen Story Hour in the U.K., where it's known as Drag Queen Story Time and books about "feminist fairytales and gender fluid novels" are read to "young children."
Drag Queen Story Hour started in San Francisco, California, in 2015 where it was launched to provide "positive and unabashedly queer role models" for children and now has chapters in 40 states and in other countries.
"One individual summed up their concerns on social media: 'The program is designed to purposely target children so as to make sexual perversion acceptable through repeated exposure,'" Graham continued. "I urge parents and library workers to let your concerns be known.
"Parents and grandparents can effectively protest by staying out of the library altogether on those days and letting others know to keep their children away also. And why not ask about starting a Christian Book Story Hour at those same libraries? The Bible tells us, 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it' (John 1:5).
Last year, parents in Long Beach, California, also spoke out against the Drag Queen Story Hour when the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library hosted a drag queen named Xochi Mochi who dressed as a five-horned demon to read to children.
While Christian parents protested the event and Omar Navarro, a Republican running against Democrat Maxine Waters for her congressional seat spoke out against it, the Church of Satan praised the library's decision to host the drag queen who describes himself as "your resident killer Klown from outer space."
CP earlier reported on concerns raised about two animated television shows about drag queens. One called "Drag Tots!" is a show about toddler drag queens featuring transgender model RuPaul that debuted in June. The other, "Super Drags," will air on Netflix.
This article was originally published in The Christian Post and is re-published here with permission