Vox Populi:

Proclaiming, “Hate has no home here” – and proving it by showing up – raucous allies of the LGBTQ community turned out with cowbells and rainbow umbrellas in New York City to confront Proud Boys protesting a first-of-its-kind Drag Story Read-A-Thon hosted by Attorney General Letitia James. The result: One unproud bigot bloodied amidst chants of “Fuck the Proud Boys,” another arrested, the rest in frazzled flight. Gleeful residents celebrated. “Nazis are a real problem,” said one. “Drag queens are not.”

Sunday’s event, held at the West Village’s LGBTQ Center, a longtime resource center for the city’s queer community, was dubbed Letitia James’ “Drag Story Hour” but turned the traditional hour-long reading into a four-hour event that included arts and crafts activities. Hosted by James in partnership with a broad coalition of advocacy organizations, it was funded by the nonprofit Drag Story Hour NYC, featured the Drag Kings, Queens, and Royalty of Drag Story Hour, and drew about 200 families. Citing the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric nationwide, James stressed, “When the choice is between love and hate, between joy and venom, New Yorkers will always choose love (and) will always choose joy.” Scores of elected officials in attendance praised a message of “radical love and acceptance” that “shows families how to live expansively and embrace diversity.” “Stories don’t just teach children to love reading, but help them understand people who are different,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “The goal is not only for our children to be academically smart, but also emotionally intelligent.”

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