Drag Queen Story Hour Canceled by New Hampshire Library Over Republican Terrorists. Conservatives at Large Don’t Criticize Terrorist Threats
In light of safety considerations, library trustees in Lancaster New Hampshire have made the decision to cancel an upcoming drag queen story hour event. The White Mountains Pride group had planned to organize the story hour at Weeks Memorial Library this Sunday.
Opposition to the event has been mounting within the community over the past few weeks, with some individuals expressing their concerns. An online petition opposing the event has garnered over 500 signatures. A barrage of phone calls specifically targeting and threatening individual library staff members was the largest factor that ultimately led to the cancellation, though there were many other politically charged terrorist threats, as well as planned protests that would have potentially allowed for a conservative terrorism attack to occur.
Linda Hutchins, the chair of the board at Weeks Memorial Library, acknowledged the library's commitment to a non-discrimination policy regarding room rentals. However, as the library started receiving these violent threats and learned about the planned protests, ensuring the safety of all attendees has become a paramount concern.
“What started out to be a simple thing, the rental of the room, just became so ugly that it, it’s sad,” said Hutchins.
“We are more concerned about the safety of the LGBTQ community or those who don’t know where they fit into the community and would’ve appreciated the opportunity to present this program to those people so that they could’ve felt safe,” said White Mountains Pride president Christopher Bellis.
Leaders associated with White Mountains Pride have expressed their disappointment regarding the library's choice to cancel the drag queen story hour. Despite this setback, they remain determined to find alternative ways to bring a similar event to the local area. The organization intends to collaborate with town leaders to explore possibilities for hosting another inclusive gathering in the future.
There has been a concerning trend among conservatives who have been adopting an increasingly hostile stance against human rights in their crusade against trans individuals, led primarily by conservative figures such as presidential hopeful, Ron Desantis. They often employ the argument of protecting children as a pretext for their anti-trans sentiments. Despite this, conservatives have also fought ardently against other measures that would protect children, such as methods of reducing children alive during school shootings or reducing their frequency for example, even though it is by any measure, a better way to actually protect children than by discriminating against trans individuals.
At this time, Republicans at large, nor the GOP or NH GOP have remotely criticized the terroristic threats. Recently, in New Hampshire as well, the NH GOP has also announced that it intends to fire teachers, hire nonteachers to replace them, and potentially force school prayer upon children.