November 30, 2023

Pocatello Awards Drag Queen Story Time an Award for ‘Human and Civil Rights,’ Igniting Concerns from Parents over Child Exposure to Gender Confusion

By: Dorothy Moon, IDGOP Chairwoman

They tell us it’s not happening in Idaho. They also tell us it’s a good thing that it is.

Earlier this week, the City of Pocatello honored a drag queen story time group with their “Human and Civil Rights” award. They specifically lauded the group for providing “educational spaces for children”.

It’s clear that this award was given in response to recent protests by concerned parents against exposing children to drag events and the gender confusion they promote. It’s no exaggeration to say that there are people out there who really are after your kids and they will call anyone who stands up to them “bigoted” and “hateful.”

Drag story time for children is not just innocent fun. Drag queens are often highly sexualized and they deliberately blur the line between male and female. These events push a radical leftist ideology to confuse young children about their gender. It’s one thing for adults to choose to enjoy this type of activity, but another to push it onto innocent children.

The Idaho Republican Platform is explicit in its support of children and families. Children are the future, more precious than anything else in the world, and protecting them and their innocence is the paramount duty for all parents. Article XIV, Section 4 of the Platform states: “We strongly oppose any person, entity, or policy that attempts to confuse minors regarding their biological gender.”

Children deserve to be raised in an environment where they can safely grow and develop. Drag story times are designed to interrupt that process, to cause children to question ideas about sex and gender before they are mature enough for such subjects. They are designed to circumvent the role of parents in bringing their children up according to their values.

Republican elected officials must do their part to protect children from these overtly sexual and confusing performances. The question is not why children should be exposed to drag queens, but why adults with crossdressing fetishes are so interested in being around our children.

This is also a reminder that local elections are very important. This drag group was chosen to be honored by the Human Relations Advisory Committee, which is made up of people ultimately appointed by the mayor and city council of Pocatello. Voters need to start asking candidates for local office where they stand on sexualizing children, because it’s happening in communities all across our state and our nation.

One of the most important and most difficult duties of parents today is to protect the innocence of their children. It’s disappointing to see organizations and municipalities deliberately making this job that much harder.

The message from the Idaho Republican Party remains simple and clear: We will always oppose the sexualization and gender confusion of children.