As we watch the news of heavily armed MAGA militants invading drag performances to shut them down, domestic terrorists attacking the electrical infrastructure in North Carolina for the same purpose, and the recent anti-gay murder spree at Club Q in Colorado Springs, our first reaction might be to say it can’t happen here in blue California—certainly not in San Luis Obispo.
Yet it is happening right here in California, and in our county. As reported in New Times, the SFGate, and other news outlets, credible threats of violence have now been leveled at several local businesses because they scheduled drag events and performances in their venues.
This summer the Proud Boys terrorized a drag event at a public library in Northern California, and early in December California State Sen. Scott Weiner received multiple death threats as a result of his activism in support of the queer community. Now a right-wing reactionary wants to bring all that to SLO to terrorize the queer community and their supporters here.
At least three business owners in SLO have been threatened by a local individual who promises to invite the reactionary hate group “Gays Against Groomers” to intimidate these businesses and threaten the performers. Gays Against Groomers is a national organization founded in Florida that is identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. They are linked to militia groups like the Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer, and Band of Brothers and have been banned by Google, Venmo, and PayPal for spreading hate online. They specialize in opposition to LGBTQ rights and use demonizing rhetoric to portray LGBTQ people as threats to children, society, and public health.
Let’s be clear. This is not just a threat to one marginalized community, or one business owner. It is a life-threatening attack on the safety and security of everyone who lives in SLO County. We know who they are, and we know what this guy threatening to bring them to our community is really bringing—armed right-wing militias that use threats of violence to sow fear and division in the community so they can resist change and cling to power. Now, once again, they are threatening our freedoms.
This isn’t just the latest right-wing sex panic we’ve become accustomed to, and we need to take seriously this threat against our community. We are outraged that someone would invite a violent organization like Gays Against Groomers here into San Luis Obispo County! Who does he think he is?
We know who the real groomers are out there—they’re the people who teach their children to hate anyone who’s different and that violence is the way to solve their disagreements. They are grooming their children to be bullies and insurrectionists. The San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party stands strongly in support of our local LGBTQ community and our local businesses. These threats of violence must be exposed, and those making the threats must face consequences. Δ
Barry Price is a spokesman for the SLO County Democratic Party. Respond with a letter to the editor by emailing it to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 15-25, 2022.
A bit of exaggeration and hyperbole, perhaps? No suspects or motive have been determined for the power station attack. The shooter in the Colorado attack was himself a member of the LGBTQ community, identifying as nonbinary and using pronouns, and had previously attacked his own family members. Whatever was going on inside of his twisted mind is hard to hang on conservatives. And protesting a drag show is not “invading” it. If it was, you lefties would be chronic, serial “invaders”.
Barry,
There is ZERO evidence connecting the attacks to the North Carolina electrical grid to people protesting drag shows for children. Seems like you are stoking the fires of hate by reporting such false inflammatory rhetoric. “Gays against groomers” is actually a group of gay people fighting against what they see as harm to children. Who are you to say this is hateful or wrong? Protecting children is always the right thing to do.
Let’s not forget the BLM protestors terrorizing innocent people having dinner or blocking them on public streets and sidewalks. Protesting that our children should not be exposed to drag shows is not teaching hatred, it’s protecting them.
Were drag brunches in the original business permit application, so that government entities could evaluate appropriate location and if activities are within ordinance? Or is this an after the fact work-around the permit review process? Seems like Gays Against Groomers is doing the job that CPS or another agency would be doing during the permit process. If this is a workaround the permit process, then there should be a review, or it will tick off every other business that is honest about their operation. Where does CPS stand on adults taking pre-teen kids to drag shows? Does a drag brunch pencil-out as a valid profitable business when patronized by 5- to 10-year-old boys with their birthday or chore money? When I was 8 years old, I wouldn’t have spent a penny of my money on a drag show. It would be toys, candy, bike, … And I would expect my adults to spend their money on my entertainment going to Disneyland, Chuckie Cheese, a magician, circus…. So, we have adults spending money on the suspect entertainment of exposing their kids to flamboyant men dressed like women strutting and invading the kid’s space. Please tell me no touching or exchange of tip money is allowed. Are lesbian drag kings in macho construction worker outfits dancing for little girls at these events? Is that more or less profitable for the business? Are lesbians more cautious than gay men about flaunting their sexuality due to social boundaries or their concern over a woman’s personal safety? My assessment is that trans men are more likely to aggressively seek affirmation in public than trans women. If wrong, educate me.
There is no evidence “domestic terrorists” associated with any political ideology recently attacked the electrical infrastructure in North Carolina. That investigation is currently ongoing. As far as the Club Q shooting suspect, it’s likely the suspect attempted to evade hate crime charges by declaring they were nonbinary. But once the hate crime charges were introduced, they went back to using he/him pronouns.
Gays Against Groomers is, in fact, a recognized hate group because their organization has launched harassment campaigns against the LGBTQ+ community based on the false premise that the LGBTQ+ community are somehow “grooming” children to become gay, bisexual or transgender. Saying “we accept you for the person you really are and aspire to be” is vastly different than forcing someone to identify as a certain sexuality or gender.
I notice a lot of white people playing the Black Lives Matter card as the albatross that liberals should wear on their neck — as if that organization is remotely comparable to the domestic terrorism we saw occur on January 6, 2021. Yelling at people having dinner, “Eff your comfort!” and temporarily blocking a freeway is not at all the same as a large group of people invading our U.S. Capitol to overthrow a centuries-old social experiment known as democracy to keep a president in power — all based on lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The decisions Tianna Arata and her fellow protesters made did not overthrow democracy as we know it, so please stop with the racist dog-whistling comparisons.
Hate has no place in our community or our country. If you want to protect children, continue the fight that our former Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham helped initiate, which is the fight to protect children from human trafficking. That’s an actual problem. Not drag queens. This year, Cunningham’s bill AB 1788 was signed into law. The bill adds civil penalties on hotel and motel owners if they knew or willfully ignored that victims were being trafficked at their hotels. The bill serves as crucial incentive for lodging owners and supervisors to report trafficking.
Be a part of the solution, not a problem pretending to be a solution.