Protestors storm drag queen story time event and chant aggressively in front of ‘scared’ young children
Protestors from The University of Queensland’s Liberal National Club interrupting the community event (Twitter/@corydunco)
Police were called to a library in Brisbane, Australia after protestors stormed a drag queen story event with aggressive chanting, reportedly distressing several young children.
Between 15 and 20 protestors from the University of Queensland’s Liberal National Club interrupted the event at Brisbane Square Library, where two drag queens were reading stories to children.
“They entered the event chanting and scared the children. Some parents got them outside the room where they continued to chant loudly,” the event organisers, Rainbow Families Queensland (RFQ), told the Daily Mail.
Video footage shows a drag queen confronting protestors as they repeatedly shout: “Drag queens are not for kids.”
“You do not have permission to film me,” one protestor orders the person behind the camera. There is no law in Australia that prohibits filming in a public place without asking for permission.
So the UQ Young Liberals decided to interrupt story time at a public library where a drag queen is reading to children only to be abused by homophobic slurs @LiberalAus. What are they doing to support the community? pic.twitter.com/dB7zXeVL7i
— CORY (@corydunco) January 12, 2020
The incident was witnessed by a friend of The Veronicas singer Jessica Origliasso, who posted on Instagram afterwards.
“A good friend of mine took her daughter along to a children’s story telling event in Brisbane by two gorgeous Drag Queens, when a screaming group calling themselves the UQ Young Libs stormed the event, causing chaos and distress to children and everybody there,” she wrote.
“What they did today was add to the bigotry, division and trauma young children are left to face in today’s society.”
Drag queen story shows are gaining popularity as a fun and educational way to celebrate diversity, giving children a space to see people who defy gender restrictions.
But UQ Liberal National Club views such events as “moral filth,” condemning the drag queens as “sick individuals” in a statement posted to Facebook.
“SHAME on the Brisbane City Council,” they wrote. “What people do behind the closed doors of a nightclub is their business, but this event is designed to indoctrinate and sexualise young children. Our kids deserve better than this!”
(Twitter/@corydunco)
A spokesperson for Queensland Police confirmed that they were called to the library after reports that people were causing distress at the community event. The protestors left before the police arrived.
In their defence, the UQ Liberal National Club said that they stayed outside the room where the event was being held, did not respond to “the insults which were hurled” at them, and left when directed by security.
They further claimed that neither children or staff were upset as a result of the protest, and that they waited until the event had finished to begin their demonstration.
The RFQ disputes this, stating that the children were still cutting out paper angels and drawing with crayons when protesters entered the room.
