LGBTQ pushback in New York? How a Hudson Valley drag queen story hour shows divide

MONTGOMERY – When a local children’s bookstore booked a drag queen story hour late last month, it drew so much attention that the owners added a second session for the free event.

The attention also drew threats of protests. And the protests drew calls for counter-protests.

Police agencies readied a response as the Orange County village with a population of 3,800 served as the backdrop on one recent Saturday afternoon for a growing divide over LGBTQ rights across the U.S., even in places like New York.

Some expressed surprise at such pushback in the Empire State, where the Stonewall riots ushering in the LGBTQ rights movement more than a half-century ago and where marriage equality has been the law for a dozen years. It is ranked among the most habitable states for LGBTQ people.

"The level of hatred and vitriol and comments was shocking," said Walt Pahucki, who co-owns MBE Children’s Chapter, the children's bookstore in Montgomery, with his wife, Claire Noorlander-Pahucki. They thought the drag queen story hour would promote literacy, family and fun.

The couple has lived in Orange County their whole lives and raised five kids in the community − "These are people who don't know us," Noorlander-Pahucki added.

Protesters on Saturday came from around the Hudson Valley; some counter-protesters identified themselves as patrons of MBE Children's Chapter while others were from nearby towns.

There were some tense words tossed back and forth, but no reported physical run-ins. Disparaging comments were heard. Also witnessed: A woman and man, one from either side, having a 15-minute discussion that ended with a hug.

'Getting out of control'

Michael Sabatino of Yonkers has been working on LGBTQ rights for decades. Now 72, he and his husband, Robert Voorheis, were among the first to register for a domestic partnership in 2002 in Westchester County and fight for marriage equality in New York.

"It's really concerning for us who have been in the movement and fought so hard for our rights," said Sabatino, a former Yonkers city councilman and vice president of Hudson Valley Stonewall Democrats. "It's really frightening and getting out of control."

Sabatino said people think New York is immune to an anti-LGBTQ wave. "I don't think that's true at all."

Recent events demonstrate the divide here.

Kirk Cameron, actor and author of the children's book "As We Grow," drew hundreds to a talk at Scarsdale Library about his family values. Cameron had said that he chose the suburban library because it had hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour.

Pushback has gone beyond talk and peaceful protest.

Three times last academic year, LGBTQ symbols were vandalized at Pearl River High School. Anti-gay comments were recently scrawled on the exterior of the Phyllis B. Frank Rockland County Pride Center in Nyack; the next day, a news reporter told police he was punched while covering the story. Wappingers Falls School District reported a threat to an administrator after complaints about pride flags at a February kids' carnival at John Jay High School.

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80% favor LGBTQ protections

Already in 2023, some 650 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 46 states; in 2022, about 315 state-level bills hostile to LGBTQ people or activities were introduced, according to a USA Today analysis. These include Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law that bans discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grades. A federal judge recently issued a restraining order against a new Tennessee law banning drag.

Meanwhile, about 80% of Americans favor laws that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing, according to surveys by the Public Religion Research Institute.

Supporters of bans argue that drag could be confusing, hypersexualize children and even be an attempt at "grooming," which is defined in different ways but often means the desensitizing of children, which could make them vulnerable to a sexual predator.

Performers say they know their audience, and a kids show may be theatrical, but it's in no way sexual.

During Saturday's reading, the drag artist Cookie Dough wore a shiny but conservatively cut dress, piles of platinum blonde hair, multiple strings of pearls and a cheery smile.

It's about acceptance, supporters say, which can be lifesaving.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual youth are more than five times more likely to have attempted suicide than their peers, according to statistics compiled by the Trevor Project.

In a recent survey, the Trevor Project reported that 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth say recent debates around anti-trans bills have negatively impacted their mental health.

'Come a long way ... stepped back a long way'

Meanwhile, on an unusually warm April 1 in the Village of Montgomery, population 3,800 or so, protesters and counter-protesters faced off along Route 17K.

Up on Factory Street, two story hours for kids and their parents took place in MBE Children's Chapter.

Police corralled the groups on either side of the drive leading into a nearby senior apartment complex. Officers from the village of Montgomery, town of Montgomery, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police strolled between the two groups.

A man yelled over to the supporters of the story hour: "You're teaching the wrong words!"

Another switched signs as the crowd grew, the new one declaring the risk of catching "monkeypox" across the street.

Someone yelled back to the counter-protesters: "Why don't you mind your own business."

Maria Amenqual-Michaud held a sign that read "Protect Our Children" and thumbed a small Bible. The New Windsor resident said of the children, "Their innocence is being taken away."

By mid-afternoon, about 40 counter-protesters stood on one side and 20 protesters on the other.

"They are going to throw hate, we are going to throw love," said Luci Windsong-Rain, 74, a transgender woman.

"We have come a long way," Windsong-Rain said. "And we have stepped back a long way."

Meeting in the middle of a driveway

Police spent most of the 4-hour protest talking down a few escalating tempers and keeping protesters away from traffic, and each other.

At one point, Christine McCormick of Highland, who stood with the drag protesters but didn't hold a sign, walked across the driveway. Kyle Conway of Middletown met her in the middle.

They were calm and courteous.

Conway, vice president of the Newburgh-Highland Falls NAACP, asked questions and McCormick answered. She asked him questions too.

They promised to meet up and talk more. A police lieutenant walked by and leaned into their huddle.

With a hand on each person’s shoulder, he told them, “Great example.”

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: LGBTQ rights debate evident over NY drag queen story hour