Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gay NYC Council Member Perfectly Shames GOP Colleague For Calling LGBTQ+ People 'Groomers'

Gay NYC Council Member Perfectly Shames GOP Colleague For Calling LGBTQ+ People 'Groomers'
@ebottcher/Twitter

Democrat Erik Bottcher, a gay New York City Council Member, called out his Republican colleague Vickie Paladino after she called LGBTQ+ people "groomers."

Paladino's rhetoric offers further examples of the ongoing "groomer" hysteria accusing LGBTQ+ people of building relationships, trust, and emotional connections with children so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.


The controversy erupted last week, after Paladino waded into the recent conservative uproar about drag queens performing for kids, calling it not just "unacceptable and grotesque" but indicative of "a deeply disturbing national pattern."

Paladino said she would reconsider allocating "funding for district schools for repairs, upgrades, and new programs" if they are "found to have participated in these activities."

She then directed a wider attack against progressives, accusing them of having "no problem with child grooming and sexualization" and stressed her own commitment to ensuring that children receive "a quality education free of political manipulation and sexual content."

Paladino's remarks angered Bottcher, who during a city council meeting took her to task for her rhetoric, saying:

“I cannot think of a more nauseating term than the term ‘groomer.' That’s what child molesters do. They cultivate trust with someone they’re about to victimize.”
"Enough. Enough of that word. Enough of this rhetoric."

Bottcher later shared the clip of his remarks to Twitter and demanded that Paladino "acknowledge this is wrong and tell others to stop also."

Many have echoed Bottcher's criticisms.

Earlier this month, Bryan Slaton, a Texas state Republican Representative, complained about a Dallas gay bar that hosted a family-friendly drag brunch for young children and vowed to introduce legislation to stop what he called the “disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualizing young children."

Shortly after, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio took to Twitter to gloat after shaming an Air Force base into canceling its drag queen story hour.

Rubio said it was "good" the Air Force had canceled the event, which would have featured a drag queen reading stories to young children, after he wrote a letter to them expressing his outrage.

Drag queen story hours have received considerable pusback nationwide from conservatives who have alleged that they are an opportunity to "indoctrinate" children into the LGBTQ+ community rather than an opportunity to impart values of inclusivity and acceptance.

"Violent threats" recently prompted one North Carolina town to cancel a scheduled drag queen story hour during Pride Month festivities.

More from News/lgbtq

Ted Cruz; Kelvin Sampson
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images; Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Houston Fans Livid After Ted Cruz 'Curse' Strikes Again At NCAA Basketball Championship

In 2013, 2016 and 2021, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was labeled the most hated man in Congress—by members of his own party. In 2023, Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz replaced him as the "most hated."

In a 2016 CNN interview, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said:

Keep ReadingShow less
Harriet Tubman
Library of Congress/Getty Images

National Parks Website Restores Harriet Tubman Photo To 'Underground Railroad' Page After Backlash

Following significant backlash, the National Park Service restored a previously-erased photo of Harriet Tubman from a webpage dedicated to the history of the Underground Railroad, in which she led 13 missions to rescue enslaved people.

A spokesperson said the changes were not authorized by the agency's leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot from Fox News of Jackie DeAngelis and Tommy Tuberville
Fox News

Tuberville Now Claims 'Entire Men's Teams' Are 'Turning Trans' To Play Against Women

Alabama Republican Senator Tommy "Coach" Tuberville appeared on Fox News Sunday to again spread unhinged misinformation about transgender athletes.

Speaking with guest host Jackie DeAngelis, Tuberville stated:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver/YouTube

John Oliver Epically Calls Out Awkward Truth Behind Former NCAA Swimmer's Anti-Trans Tirades

On Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the outspoken host devoted the entire program to the attack on trans girls and women who play sports by the GOP.

Oliver began the program saying:

Keep ReadingShow less
man in front of computer code
Chris Yang on Unsplash

Conspiracy Theories That Seem Believable The More You Look Into Them

We tend to think of conspiracy theories as a phenomenon of the digital age. But the internet and mobile devices only allow them to be created and spread faster.

Conspiracy theories have likely been around as long as human civilization has. They are, at their root, just another form of rumors and gossip.

Keep ReadingShow less