A video showing people chanting “we’re coming for your children” has gone viral, sparking outrage on social media. New York City kicked off the last weekend of Pride Month with its annual Drag March on Friday.
Hundreds of drag performers marched through Manhattan’s East Village in elaborate costumes on their way to the iconic Stonewall Inn.
Video showing some of the march’s participants chanting, “we’re here, we’re queer, we’re coming for your children” was shared on Twitter by Timcast News, launched by conservative podcaster Tim Pool. Others can be heard saying, “we’re here, we’re queer, we’re not going shopping.”
The clip went viral, racking up more than 3 million views in less than a day. It also incensed conservatives, who decried the chanting.
“This movement grooms minors to have mastectomies and castration and fuels a multi billion dollar medical child abuse industry,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in a tweet.
Oli London, a spokesperson for the Fairness First PAC launched by Caitlyn Jenner, tweeted: “They are not even hiding their intentions anymore they are saying it out loud.”However, others said the chant was mocking conservatives.
“They are mocking the f****** weirdos who think they are coming for their children. Evil predators who are coming for your children don’t chant about it in public,” one Twitter user wrote.
New York City’s annual Pride March will take place on Sunday, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall uprising, when a police raid on a gay bar in the city triggered days of protests.
Many of this year’s parades served as calls to action to unite against the hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced in state legislatures this year.
“We are under threat. Prides are under threat,” Pride event organizers in New York, San Francisco and San Diego said in a statement. They were joined by about 50 other pride organizations nationwide.
“The diverse dangers we are facing as an LGBTQ community and Pride organizers, while differing in nature and intensity, share a common trait: they seek to undermine our love, our identity, our freedom, our safety, and our lives. It’s time we reaffirm the importance of Pride in our current sociopolitical climate, and call all our allies to action.”
