Arizona state Democrats ignited a firestorm of criticism as they hosted a Drag Story Hour reading on Tuesday at the Capitol, an event in collaboration with Planned Parenthood, drawing a sharp rebuke from Republican counterparts, Breitbart reported.
During the event, captured in a brief video shared by Arizona state Senate Republicans on X, a figure with distinctive hot pink eyebrows and a beard, identified as a man, advocated for children transitioning genders.
The individual, reportedly reading from "Queer and Fearless: Poems Celebrating the Lives of LGBTQ+ Heroes," addressed parents, urging them to heed their children's inclinations toward transgenderism, drawing from personal experiences.
"Because I can tell you I knew from a very young age — very, very young age — and had the resources been there, had the language been there, had all the things that are available today been there, things might have been very different for me instead of waiting 35 years," the man said.
The Republicans, taking to social media, issued a warning about the event's content and accused Democrat lawmakers of promoting child indoctrination and espousing "woke ideology" with taxpayer funds.
House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, condemned Democrats' deliberate deception in securing the venue for the event, announcing the suspension of their privilege to reserve House meeting rooms "until trust could be restored," Fox News reported.
Rep. Lorena Austin, D-Mesa, who identifies as nonbinary, was singled out by Toma for her involvement in organizing the event in the Copper Basin Room and subsequent LGBTQ+ Youth Day at the Capitol on Wednesday.
"Lorena Austin deliberately misled House leadership to reserve a conference room to host a Drag Story Hour with Planned Parenthood," Toma said. "Use of House facilities for radical activism to promote dangerously perverse ideology will not be tolerated while I am speaker."
In response to the criticism, Planned Parenthood Arizona defended the event, describing it as an initiative to support the LGBTQ+ community.
"At Planned Parenthood Arizona, we are proud to offer gender-affirming care services and provide essential health care to everyone," the group said in a post on X.
"And it wouldn't have happened had they been truthful and said they wanted to have a drag queen story hour," John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, told Fox News Digital.
"I mean, that in and of itself is so inflammatory and controversial, which is probably why they didn't mention that. So it was the fact that they were deceptive in the explanation," he said.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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