An Arizona lawmaker, Rep. Lorena Austin, is inviting supporters of all ages to a drag show this coming Saturday in what was once rated as the “most conservative big city in America.”
Austin published the invitation on her social media profiles:
Happy 1st Day of Pride Month!
With all the exciting events going on this month to support our community, make sure that you add this one to your calendar. We are hosting a drag show fundraiser for my campaign at Meño’s Place on Saturday, June 22nd, from 9pm to 11pm. The show starts at 10pm, and we have a SPECIAL GUEST performing at the end of the night, so make sure you don’t miss out!
There is a $10 cover (cash only), which goes directly to donations, and we will have raffle tickets available for $5 to win a variety of prizes, including some beer buckets! I will also have my special margarita “Maggie” drink available during the event, with proceeds also going towards my campaign.
Thank you to our amazing MC, Gypsy Rodriguez, and @menosplace for hosting all of us. I can’t wait to see you all
Check out Mesa's State Legislator @LorenaAustin4Az hosting a Drag Show for kids IN MESA.
Mesa has been rated the most conservative big city in America– now thanks to culture invited by guys like Mayor Giles & others, we have elected officials hosting drag queen story hour. pic.twitter.com/MOolyk9a94
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) June 20, 2024
In April, Austin, a woman who identifies as “nonbinary” and whose pronouns are “she/ella/they/them,” allegedly deceived House leadership into booking a conference room for a Planned Parenthood-lead drag story hour.
As a result, House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, announced that Democrats had lost their ability to book House meeting rooms. Toma stated that the drag story hour was part of “dangerously perverse” and “radical” ideology.
“Use of House facilities for radical activism to promote dangerously perverse ideology will not be tolerated while I am Speaker,” said Toma. “As a result, I’ve ordered that Democrats have lost the privilege of accessing House meeting rooms until trust can be restored.”
The Senate GOP criticized the event as a radical waste of taxpayer funds.
“Your taxpayer dollars are hard at work to push child indoctrination and woke ideology onto our citizens,” said the Senate GOP. “The madness must stop.”
⚠️ WARNING: THIS CONTENT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN.
Arizona Democrat lawmakers teamed up with Planned Parenthood to host ‘Drag Story Hour’ at the Capitol to encourage parents to transition their kids. This is ahead of LGBTQ+ YOUTH Day at the Capitol tomorrow.
Your… pic.twitter.com/4qpS6lj4Gb
— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) April 30, 2024
The event occurred ahead of Wednesday’s planned LGBTQ+ Youth Day at the Capitol. OnenTen, an organization for LGBTQ youth activism, assisted with the event.
OnenTen encouraged youths aged 13-18 to attend. Their X account was suspended, but their Instagram remains live.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona (PPAZ) claimed that the event represented a “safe learning literacy space” of which they and Austin were proud. PPAZ encouraged the public to “educate” themselves with their resources promoting LGBTQ+ ideology. Among their resources was the controversial Q Chatrooms (also promoted by former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman), where minors are encouraged to discuss their sexuality and gender issues with adults.