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SPOKANE, Washington, July 31, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Public libraries in Washington state are distancing themselves from a recent Drag Queen Story Hour event which has library officials concerned that taxpayers will turn against increased funding for their jurisdiction’s library system. 

A Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) held at a library in the City of Spokane, Washington in June attracted national attention as 200 protestors were met with extreme measures by local law enforcement, with snipers stationed atop the library roof to keep peaceful protesting moms in check. 

That event in the City of Spokane seems to have tarnished the reputation of libraries in the county which surrounds it and shares the same name.

“While the City of Spokane, which operates its own separate library system from the county’s, refuses to apologize for arresting and potentially risking the lives of protesters and exposing children to the incredibly controversial ‘art’ of drag, the county library system is now making sure to publicly distance itself from the Drag Queen Story Hour fiasco,” observed Elizabeth Johnston, the “Activist Mommy.”  

“As it turns out, local taxpayers are wholeheartedly opposed to these sickening, child-targeting events, but confusion over which library system is responsible is putting county library funding in jeopardy,” wrote Johnston on her blog. 

“Spokane County Library District leaders are asking voters for a $2 million property tax increase to avoid laying off staff and closing libraries,” according to a local news report by The Spokesman-Review, “but they fear that backlash from the city of Spokane library system’s Drag Queen Story Hour could turn off voters.”

“Jane Baker, Spokane County libraries spokeswoman, said the district has received about 100 calls about the city’s Drag Queen Story Hour since the event drew a considerable public presence both on the South Hill and downtown in June,” continued the report. “Many of the callers said they wouldn’t vote for the levy because they were against the story hour, or wanted to know if Spokane County libraries were planning to host its own.” 

‘No Drag Queen Story Hours will be held,’ declares Spokane County Library leader

Contrary to the perception promoted by major media that DQSHs are wildly popular, the spokeswoman for the Spokane County Library District indicated that there has never been a request for DQSH at any of the county’s libraries.

“Baker said the library district tries to offer programs that Spokane County residents say they want, but no one has asked for a Drag Queen Story Hour,” reported the The Spokesman-Review. “She said their current story hour is designed to help young children prepare for school and is led by trained library staff.”

Drag Queen Story Hour: The kiss of death?

Spokane County Library District Director Patrick Roewe went further and declared that the county library district will not be hosting a DQSH.

According to Director Roewe, his County Library District is working to inform voters that the city and county libraries are separate entities in order to head off any moves to deny the additional funding being sought.

Roewe wrote an op-ed titled “No drag hour at Spokane County Library District locations, but any readers welcome here,” in which he aimed to distinguish the county libraries from those in the city. Roewe described the laudable educational goals of his county library storytimes which have not been co-opted by men garishly dressed in women’s clothing:  

Rather than talk about what we are not doing, we want to emphasize what Spokane County Library District is doing. The focus of our early literacy programs such as storytime is on preparing children for kindergarten by introducing the skills children need for learning: recognizing the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes and developing an array of social skills needed to prepare them for educational success.

‘No different than a racist donning black face…no to gender appropriation!’

As reported previously by LifeSiteNews, the protest outside the June DQSH at Spokane City Library was organized by Anna Bohach. Bohach created 500 Mom Strong, a grassroots group for women “who have had enough with the sexualization of our children and the mockery of our femininity.”    

Bohach said “Drag Queen Story Hour” is misogynistic: “Drag queens are very offensive to women. They are grotesque hypersexualized caricatures of women. They mock women and debase our womanhood and femininity. A drag queen is no different than a racist donning black face.”

“The library hosting such an event teaches our sons that women are just sexual objects and it teaches our daughters that they must be overly sexualized to be desired. Enough is enough. We say NO more to a political agenda aimed at degrading women and sexualizing children. We say no to gender appropriation!”

While many are appalled by DQSHs and local library systems may resist attempts to hold DQSHs, the sprawling national American Library Association (ALA) is working to not only promote DQSHs, but to teach librarians how to sneak these events into libraries in rural or conservative jurisdictions.

The ALA’s recent national conference provided librarians from across the country with strategies for advancing gender identity ideology in schools and finding ways to bring “Drag Queen Story Times” into public libraries despite the objections of local communities.  

The conference was held just as disturbing stories came to light about DQSHs held in public libraries. On the West Coast, young children were photographed lying on top of and crawling on a drag queen – something that goes against standard school, camp, and church child protection policies – while on the East Coast, a drag queen who read to young children was discovered to be involved with numerous lurid and pornographic sexual businesses and activities.

Meanwhile, in Texas, two drag queens who participarted in DQSH events were revealed to be convicted sex offenders.

“The goal is to normalize abnormal, sexually deviant homosexual behavior by enticing children to first: question their sexuality,” pro-family activist Georgia Kijesky recently told LifeSiteNews. “The more children see men dressing up as women, the more normal it will become.”