CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WGHP) — A Republican candidate for congress is sending out a “call to action” over story time at a park in Charlotte.
According to a campaign email, Tyler Lee, who is running for North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District, has announced a “call to action for adults of Charlotte to reach out to City Council elected officials” to try and get a scheduled Drag Queen Story Hour event canceled.
The event is taking place at Romare Bearden Park on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon.
“Charlotte Area Drag Queen Story Hour is an organization that promotes diversity in literature through performance in Drag. Drag queens, kings, and theybies read books to children to show them that there is always a way to love who they are! Come join us for stories, crafts, and general fun all around!”
from charlotteartsfest.com
Drag Queen Story Hour has been under attack across the country, the subject of violent threats in Apex, protests in Winston-Salem and nationwide clashes.
In Texas, protesters disrupted a family-friendly drag show, some heard on camera asking cops to shoot attendees. In Los Angeles, a Drag Queen Story Time event was interrupted by Proud Boys, and nearly three dozen white supremacists were arrested near a pride event in Idaho with a U-Haul packed full of weapons.
Tyler Lee released the following statement about his efforts to cancel the event:
“Public parks are vested and maintained by taxpayer dollars, and such an event being marketed ‘for fun lovers of all ages’ is unacceptable.
When I was growing up, it was well known that pedophiles preyed on innocent children in parks and playgrounds, and now, public officials are allowing our taxpayer dollars to allow it.
I have reached out to Charlotte City Council Members with the request that they cancel the event, because I feel it is my duty as an adult to act as a sentinel for the safety and well-being of our children. We must stand up and exercise our First Amendment rights so that our silence cannot be construed as acceptance.”
He concludes by saying he wants to “stand up for the innocence of children” and urging people to reach out to Charlotte’s City Council.
Lee is running for the 12th District against incumbent democrat Alma Adams, who is originally from High Point and has been in that seat since 2014.
Lee is an alumnus of Liberty University. You can learn more about Drag Queen Story Hour on their website.
The Drag Queen Story Hour event in Charlotte is happening on both Saturday and Sunday. In Greensboro, Sunday will mark the 15th annual Greensboro Pride festival, the return of the festival after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled it in 2020 and 2021. Drag performers like American Idol’s Ada Vox will be performing.
