Two protesters arrested in Calgary at children's drag queen story hour

On Tuesday night, March 14, Calgary City Council reformed its harassment bylaw and approved the Safe and Inclusive Access bylaw to suppress protests against all-ages drag shows. Furthermore, it adds "intimidation" to the existing bylaw.

The new Safe and Inclusive Access bylaw prohibits protests within 100 meters of a recreation facility or library. This means, if you have concerns about children being exposed to sexually explicit content and/or people dressed inappropriately in front of children and you express your disapproval within 100m of the facility, you will face thousands in fines and/or be locked up in jail for a full year.

The move by the mayor of Calgary comes as Christian Pastor Derek Reimer of Mission 7 Ministries protested a drag queen story hour at Seton Public Library in late February. Shortly after, Derek Reimer was charged with mischief and causing a disturbance and was arrested near his home. He was let out on bail on the evening of March 6.

During drag queen story hour events, adults dressed in drag read books to children, in what are usually public libraries. Many videos have circulated online of drag queen events involving children in the audience becoming very concerned as adults display sexual behavior or the performers wear very little clothing.

Concerns and goals from most of the public are to specifically ban children in the crowd where drag queens are performing. Not in an attack towards the LGBTQ community, but in the belief that this material strips children of their innocence as they refer to it as “grooming.” They simply want children out of it.

Across the street in a distant parking lot from the Signal Hill Library, Derek Reimer was with a group of people standing outside. As soon as they were spotted, Calgary police swarmed the area dragging Pastor Derek into a police vehicle once again for allegedly breaking his bail conditions which included remaining 200m away from any drag queen event. More details are to follow in the coming days.

Rebel News, in partnership with the Democracy Fund, has been able to supply him with a lawyer to help him fight his legal battles. You can help support Derek in his fight at SavePastorDerek.com.

Someone in support of the “Reading With Royalty” event that took place inside the Signal Hill Public Library had expressed to us that it was “family friendly.” As the drag queens exited the library, we were able to get a view of them and by observation, their clothing was modest with the drag emphasis being expressed with makeup on their faces. We were unable to get information on the reading material.

Other folks felt disgusted with the agenda being pushed on the young children.

A turn of events occurred after a fire alarm was pulled inside the building. Police took a woman into custody.

The mayor of Calgary has a history of suppressing protests that contradict the standards of her own political views. Almost a year ago, she slapped down an emergency court injunction in response to weekly protests against COVID mandates, stopping them from walking on streets, using noise-making devices, or hindering the use of parks.

In recent weeks, protests around the city have gotten violent. Rebel News hired security guards for both myself and my colleague Sydney Fizard to keep us safe while we were out in the field to bring you this story. Security guards are not a cheap purchase. We would appreciate your help to cover the costs at http://JournalistDefenceFund.com.

Angelica Toy

Social Media Coordinator

Angelica was taught from a young age to question the mainstream narrative and seek the truth. Guided by her faith and commitment to freedom, she regularly hits the streets of Calgary, Alberta, where she lives and attends university.

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