U.S. Air Force leaders in Germany canceled a “drag queen” event targeting children of military personnel after U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio complained that the program was wholly inappropriate.
On Thursday, the Florida Republican sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall objecting to an “insane” plan to host a “Drag Queen Story Time” show for servicemembers’ children at the Air Force Library at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
According to Rubio’s letter, the event was planned for June 2 as a celebration of Pride Month.
“I urge you to immediately cancel this politically divisive event, and take appropriate disciplinary action against all involved in allowing this gross abuse of taxpayer funding to place children in a sexualized environment,” Rubio wrote to Kendall.
U.S. military installations exist to ensure America’s forces can fight wars, the letter continued. But those posts also must “support the needs of servicemembers and their families, including creating a safe, healthy environment for parents raising children.”
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For this reason, military bases often include shopping centers, pharmacies, schools, and libraries – which in overseas posts play an even more important and central role in the lives of U.S. servicemembers and their families, Rubio noted. Frequently, military families don’t have other options overseas “due to language and logistical barriers.”
“In light of this, it is completely insane for Ramstein AFB to use on-installation resources for rituals like “Drag Queen Story Time,’” Rubio argued.
“These inappropriate events are extremely divisive at home for good reason; in all cases, they place young children in close proximity with adults who are intentionally and explicitly sexualized.”
The GOP senator further pointed out that a flyer for a similar event last year highlighted the apparent inclusion of a book called “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish.” The author stated it was intended for children to “experience the magic of drag and to get a little practice shaking their hips or shimmying their shoulders to know how [they] can feel fabulous inside of [their] own bodies,” Rubio noted.
“As I hope you can agree,” he wrote to Kendall, “decisions over children and their bodies should be left to moms and dads serving our nation, not mediated through publicly funded propaganda on U.S. Air Force bases.”
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“The last thing parents serving their nation overseas should be worried about, particularly in a theater with heightened geopolitical tensions, is whether their children are being exposed to sexually charged content simply because they visited their local library. I urge you to cancel this event,”
Rubio also asked for the following information:
Since this apparently was not the first time this library has held such an event, given that one was conducted last year, he wanted Kendall to share “how many instances of events involving drag queens spending time around children have occurred at government-sponsored events on U.S. military installations.”
Rubio also requested Kendall explain how much U.S. taxpayer funding has gone “to cover salaries, utilities, materials, transportation, and other costs associated with these events.” And he asked the secretary if he and President Joe Biden believe “the proper role of the U.S. Department of Defense is to facilitate extraordinarily divisive events involving the children of U.S. servicemembers.”
Rubio’s office did not post whether Kendall submitted a response.
But the senator’s office issued a press release on Friday saying the event had been canceled.
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