A New Jersey drag queen and former school board member said shielding children from seeing drag performances does “a disservice to their young minds.”
Eric L. Pinckney, whose drag name is Miss Savannah Georgia, shared his frustration with parents protesting “Drag Queen Story Hour” and other “drag performances” for children in an op-ed in USA Today. He said his favorite performances are “those center stage, right in front of young children, reading books to them.”
But with over a dozen states passing laws heavily restricting drag performances, Pinckney says states are working hard to end his “favorite performance spaces.”
“The members of the drag community are under fire, and it’s a pointless war we are forced to fight,” Pinckney wrote. “And this battle being thrust upon us has too many innocent bystanders who could be damaged in the struggles.”
He claimed that efforts to protect young children from drag queen performances “is doing a disservice to young minds.”
In March, Tennessee passed a bill banning drag show performances in public places — making it the first state to do so, PBS reported. Those who violate the law could face up to a year of jail time and a fine of $2,500. However, a federal judge ruled Tennessee’s law unconstitutional, according to Reuters.
But Pinckney’s New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has declared New Jersey a “safe haven” for transgenders.
“Young children must learn a lot of things at an early age, and one of the most important lessons they need to learn is about love, acceptance and compassion,” Pinckney wrote. “Those opposing the drag community and every treasure that we bring to the world obviously need to learn those lessons as well.”
Despite not having any children of his own, Pinckney served on the Asbury Park Board of Education from 2018 to 2020.
He wrote:
Keeping young minds closed is never a good thing. And by keeping drag performers from even reading a book such as Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss, The Not-so Perfect Penguin by Steve Smallman, or The Star of the Zoo by Virginie Zurcher and Daniel Howarth – just to name a few of my favorites − those against the drag community are doing a disservice.
In response to the woke agenda behind the drag time story hour found in libraries across America, Hollywood actor Kirk Cameron went on his own book tour across the country promoting Christian values, Breitbart reported.
WATCH: Huge Crowd Attends Reading of Faith-Based Children’s Book Despite Library’s Attempt to Stop Event
Zac Bell with BRAVE Books
“If we want to see the future look like the kind of place we grew up in, or our grandparents grew up in, we need to start investing and planting seeds today that will grow into these future trees of liberty and blessing for our kids,” Cameron said.
“One of the ways we do that is by being the ones who tell them these stories, not allowing cross-dressing men to tell our children stories that lead our kids in a different direction,” he added.
Kirk Cameron and Coffey Anderson hold copies of Cameron’s book ‘As You Grow’ amid crowd gathered for story time. (Amplifi Agency)
Rev. Franklin Graham said he is proud of Cameron and the work he is doing.
“Libraries used to be safe places for families, but many of them now seem to be agenda-driven places that welcome drag queens to hold story hours for children,” Graham said in a statement. “This is just plain wrong, and I’m so glad Kirk Cameron has decided to tell a different story — a story with Biblical values.