Protesters clash in Gerritsen Beach
Children’s Drag Queen Story Hour a hot topic of debate at public library
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Protesters gathered in Gerritsen
Beach on June 6 to express
outrage over the appearance
of a drag queen at
a reading event for children,
which they said would be detrimental
to the welfare of minors.
“I was rather appalled by it
simply because I really feel
that it is not just a diversity
issue but a morality
issue,” said James
Bickle. “It’s especially
bad because it’s an
indoctrination of little
children.”
The event,
which hosted Angel
Elektra at the
Gerritsen Beach library,
was part of a citywide
series to connect
members of the LGBTQ
community with New
York City youth.
“Drag Queen
Story Hour captures
the imagination
and play of
the gender fl uidity
in childhood and
gives kids glamorous, positive,
and unabashedly queer
role models,” read the event’s
promotional
material.
Bickle,
who has
lived in
S h e e p -
shead Bay
for 23 years,
said he
wanted to discourage parents
from bringing their children
to the event.
be confronted with the truth.
They don’t know what they’re
doing to these little kids,” he
said. “It’s perverting them. It’s
unnatural.”
made clear that he would have
no problem with an African-
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“Parents should at least
Bickle, who repeatedly
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A short drive thru the Battery Tunnel from Manhattan
American story
teller, said a
queer narrator
was simply a step
too far.
“I would also
have a problem if
it were a gay person.
And it’s not
that I hate gay people.
I actually have
compassion for them,
and I want to help them
out this lifestyle,” he said. “I
think its a choice.”
Counter-protesters also
gathered outside the library,
setting up a clash between the
two factions.
One drag queen, who came
out to support the event, said
the protesters were less than
unwilling to engage in a
proper dialogue.
“The protesters were very
diffi cult to reason with on any
level,” said Barry D’Ellive
“The self-appointed head of
the group had a megaphone,
and just put on a siren whenever
he didn’t want to talk.”
For his part, the megaphone
wielding man claimed
the drag queen supporters
simply lacked open-mindedness.
“They were very vulgar,
and they were nasty. They
showed me very little tolerance,
and very little love,” said
the man who asked only to be
identifi ed as Tag.
Tag, an 11-year resident of
Sheepshead Bay, took issue
with the library’s tax-payer
funding.
“At best, it’s irresponsible.
At worst, it’s state-sponsored
child abuse,” he said.
D’Ellive said the storytime
event was perfect for combating
the mindset of people like
Tag’s.
“Drag queens have been
almost inextricably linked to
promiscuity and sexual misconduct,
and something as
mundane as storytime is going
to help diminish that stigma,”
said D’Ellive.
Through the commotion,
NYPD offi cers cordoned off
the entryway to the library,
where the event went off as
planned.
Good vibes: A woman appears in
support of the event at the Gerritsen
Beach library.
Photo By Steve Solomonson
DRAGGED: A woman protests the Drag Queen
Story Hour in Gerritsen Beach on June 6.
Photo By Steve Solomonson