New York’s top law enforcement official is set to host a “Drag Story Hour” event for little children in the heart of the Manhattan borough of New York City over the weekend.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, plans on proceeding with the controversial event, despite accusations that it encourages the sexualization of children with graphic themes.
The post invited families with children “to join Attorney General James, Drag storytellers, and city and state elected leaders” at the event.
Other entities co-sponsoring the event include the Pride Center of Staten Island, Destination Tomorrow, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Queens Public Library, and the New York Public Library.
The reading will be held at The Center (The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center) in West Village. An Eventbrite post selling tickets to the event was sold out as of March 15.
James and several Democrat lawmakers are scheduled to attend, including city council members Crystal Hudson, Chi Ossé, Erik Bottcher, Tiffany Caban, Shekar Krishnan, and Lynn Schulman; state Assembly members Daniel O'Donnell, Deborah Glick, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, and Tony Simone; and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
Opposition Growing to Children’s Drag Programs
Drag queen story hours for children have been spreading nationwide at public education venues and have been performed in New York City since 2017.However, these events have been drawing backlash with protests and counterprotests, even in New York City.
In December, New York City police officers were forced to intervene when a protest turned into a riot between opposing sides outside a library in Jackson Heights in the borough of Queens, where a drag queen story reading was being held.
Many Republican-led states are banning these events altogether.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that she would move to prohibit drag shows from taking place on public property in the state, which she says will protect children from being exposed to “sexually explicit drag shows.”
