Arizona Democratic lawmakers sparked backlash from their Republican colleagues after they hosted a "Drag Story Hour" in partnership with Planned Parenthood at the state Capitol on Tuesday. The event was reportedly planned "deceptively," with Republicans accusing Democrats of misleading House leadership to reserve a conference room for the performance.
Democratic lawmakers in Arizona's state legislature hosted a "Drag Story Hour" in partnership with Planned Parenthood on Tuesday, sparking backlash from their Republican colleagues who said the event was "deceptively" planned.
The event, held in the Copper Basin Room in the House basement, featured a man in a sparkly suit jacket wearing pink and white makeup reading from the book "Queer and Fearless: Poems Celebrating the Lives of LGBTQ+ Heroes."
House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, accused Rep. Lorena Austin, a nonbinary Democrat lawmaker in the state House, of deliberately misleading House leadership to reserve a conference room for the drag story hour with Planned Parenthood.
"Use of House facilities for radical activism to promote dangerously perverse ideology will not be tolerated while I am Speaker," Toma said in a statement. He added that Democrats have "lost the privilege" of reserving House meeting rooms "until trust can be restored."
A video of the event, taken by an intern who stopped by, shows the man in drag reading from the book. In the video, he can be heard asking, "When is it time to choose a new name? Why does someone become an activist? How does one begin?"
Austin also helped plan a "LGBTQ+ Youth Day at the Capitol" on Wednesday. In a post on Instagram, One-n-Ten, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, wrote that the event is important for youth to "see and hear from the youth impacted by policies they pass. It's also an opportunity for us to build community and uplift one another."
Planned Parenthood Arizona defended the event in a statement posted to Twitter, saying it is "another example of Speaker Toma showing how out of touch he is with the values of Arizonans & their support for the LGTBQ community."
"At Planned Parenthood Arizona, we are proud to offer gender-affirming care services and provide essential health care to everyone," the group said. "We thank Rep. Lorena Austin for being a staunch ally and for their continued support in our fight for reproductive freedom. We will be sure to invite Speaker Toma to the next Drag Story Hour."
State Sen. John Kavanaugh, a Republican, told Fox News Digital that it was the first time anything like the drag event had happened at the Capitol.
"And it wouldn't have happened had they been truthful and said they wanted to have a drag queen story hour," he said. "I mean, that in and of itself, is so inflammatory and controversial, which is probably why they didn't mention that. So, it was the fact that they were deceptive in the explanation."
The event has sparked a heated debate about the role of drag and LGBTQ+ issues in public spaces and schools. Some argue that the event was inappropriate for a government building, while others defend it as a celebration of diversity and inclusion.
The controversy is likely to continue as the debate over LGBTQ+ rights and the role of drag in society continues to play out across the country.
