Achi news desk-
LANCASTER, Pa. –
A “Drag Queen Story Hour” at a Pennsylvania library that had drawn opposition was canceled Saturday after a suspicious package was found in the building and two blocks were evacuated after threats were reported, it said. authorities.
Police evacuated the Lancaster Public Library after finding the package. The state police bomb squad later cleared the library, but police said “additional reported threats” were still being investigated. Residents of the block and another block nearby were told to evacuate, an order that was lifted several hours later.
A city spokesperson later told LancasterOnline that a dog alerted to the package and the contents were later found to be “benign” but “subsequently, we received additional written threats via email.”
Lancaster Pride, a non-profit organization celebrating the town’s LGBTQ+ community, posted a notice on social media that the “Drag Story Hour with Miss Amie” had been cancelled, saying “the safety and well-being of our community is of the utmost importance to us. “
The planned story hour drew passionate opposition from some residents during Wednesday’s marathon county commissioners meeting, the second consecutive meeting marked by resident protests after Republican commissioners denied the event was inappropriate, LancasterOnline reported.
Commissioner Josh Parsons wrote that libraries “should be places for children to read and learn safely, not social political laboratories for woke ideology.” Commissioner Ray D’Agostino said that he believed that contact between children was more “confused, worried and stressed” than ever and people were “trying to push adult-themed issues at such a young age.” Scores of people attended a prayer vigil in the plaza near the library on Friday night opposing the incident.
Parsons and D’Agostino issued statements Saturday afternoon condemning the reported threats and calling for the prosecution of those responsible regardless of their motives, LancasterOnline reported.
“There is no place for threats of violence in our debates,” Parsons said.
Lissa Holland, the library’s executive director, told LancasterOnline she was “very sad, very disappointed and angry” about the cancellation.
“The library should be a safe place. … And as I’ve told people several times this week, not every book in the library is for every person, maybe not every program is for every person. But we don’t do that.” t censor,” he said.
The listing for “Drag Queen Story Hour” on the library’s events page called on attendees to “Join Miss Amie Vanite as she spreads awareness and acceptance by celebrating diversity, inclusion, kindness and love through LGBTQ+ literature for young readers. “
The Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition noted the “backlash” in a Facebook post earlier this month and decried what it called “hateful comments about the LGBTQ+ community” by public officials.
“We want to be clear that drag story hours for children are NOT the same as adult drag performances,” the group said. The performer, said the group, “is a professional who has done other story hours for children. He dresses up in fun, whimsical costumes, sings age-appropriate songs, and reads age-appropriate books. “
Christopher Paolini, who was to read in drag as Miss Amie Vanite, said he had just arrived and was getting ready “when the alarms went off.” He called the turn of events “crazy,” LancasterOnline reported.
“It hurts my heart that it has come to this,” he said. “I’m not going to stop what I’m doing. This program is too important to too many people.”
