With all the vitriol against the LGBTQ+ community currently, it should come as no surprise how low our right-wing opponents will go to paint us as evil, even making odious accusations that Pride festivals are a place of deviant behavior. What do they have to gain from the lies and manufactured outrage they direct at the LGBTQ+ community? Quite a lot. According to the ACLU, there are currently 461 anti-LGBTQ bills either introduced or advancing through the legislature in 45 of the 50 states in this country.
One only needs to look at the BOMA meeting in Franklin, Tennessee on March 28th to understand the lengths they will go to, to prevent that city from holding a Pride Festival in June. The astroturf group Moms for Liberty rallied their members to show up at the March 28 work session. An email to members urged them to “show up to speak what’s on your heart.” Members of the group took advantage of the public comment section to propagate lies about the LGBTQ+ community. One of the speakers claimed:
“It started out as Pride coming in and I thought everything would be ok…it ended with a rainbow room where 8-12 y/o kids were given butt plugs and dildos.”
Tonight, Franklin, TN is set to take a vote on a permit for the city's Pride festival.
Here's some of the public comment.
"It started out as Pride coming in and I thought everything would be ok…it ended with a rainbow room where 8-12 y/o kids were given butt plugs and dildos." pic.twitter.com/wyKXaD4ZwQ— Adam Mintzer (@adammintzer) April 11, 2023
WKRN Reporter Adam Mintzer posted on his Twitter account the video of the woman claiming kids were given sex toys and many people doubted the woman’s claims.
At another BOMA meeting two weeks later in Franklin, Alderman At Large Gabrielle Hanson held up a picture of a drag queen, stating that the drag queen was “biting into a live, bleeding heart.” (The video can be watched below with it starting at Hanson’s accusation)
Meanwhile, John Amanchukwu, a contributor for the right-wing group Turning Point USA, posted a video to his Instagram of himself confronting LEGO Store employees for wearing a rainbow pin in support of the LGBTQ+ community, which LEGO has done since 2021.
In the video, Amanchukwu harasses the employees by asking them:
“why are you all in here with those pins on? Do you think children care about what man sucks d**k at home? What girl eats vaginas at home?”
The employees respond by insisting Amanchukwu leave and after his refusal to do so, security comes to remove him from the store. The video is also posted on the Twitter account of Charlie Kirk, founder, and CEO of Turning Point USA.
WATCH: This father confronts LEGO for promoting LGBTQ agenda to children, then gets thrown out by store security.
Why is LEGO doing this when its products are designed for children?
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 12, 2023
People expressed outrage at Amanchukwu for harassing retail employees and pointing out that he was the one who was being inappropriate in front of children, while others called out Kirk for encouraging this toxic behavior.
What are your thoughts on these manufactured attacks on the LGBTQ+ community? Let us know in the comments or on our social media accounts.
Sources: ACLU, Moms of Liberty, Moms of Liberty Newsletter, Adam Mintzer Official Twitter Account, Franklin Tennessee Official YouTube Channel, LEGO, Charlie Kirk Official Twitter Account,
