Dozens of community members rallied outside the library in Guerneville on Saturday to support a story time hosted by the Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence amid calls from an anti-LGBTQ+ group to cancel the event.
Clad in rainbow colors and waving Pride flags, supporters attempted to block from view a small group of protesters that had lined up on the sidewalk in front of the Sonoma County Library branch on Main Street.
Dan Samson, co-chair of Russian River Pride and one of about 40 locals who showed up, said it was critical for the community to push back against hateful rhetoric surrounding the event.
The story time, a Pride Month tradition in the queer-friendly town, caught attention on a larger stage after the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property launched an online petition demanding the library system cancel it.
The Pennsylvania-based organization of Catholic lay people accused the Sisters of “targeting the innocence of our children” by “flaunting their immoral lifestyle,” according to the online petition, which had been signed by nearly 21,000 people as of Saturday.
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15 окт 2024
