A “Drag Queen Story Hour” event planned this Saturday at the Lincoln Children’s Museum in Lincoln, Neb., was canceled this week due to death threats, according to the museum.
“We are very saddened to say this event has been cancelled due to the growing safety concerns that have been created by some in our community,” said Facebook post from the museum. “Over the past few days, the Lincoln Children's Museum and event host OutNebraska have both received an overwhelming number of threats of violence against our organizations, many going as far as death threats.”
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In the post, the museum explained that organizers rented out space in the museum for this private event.
According to the Drag Queen Story Hour Nebraska web page, events feature drag queens reading stories to children at libraries, schools, book stores and other locations. Events are aimed at providing positive queer and gender fluid role models to children.
“In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real,” said the organization. Similar events are held in other parts of the country and in the U.K.
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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance study conducted from 2015 to 2019 showed that more lesbian, gay and bisexual youths experience violence victimization and suicide risk than their heterosexual counterparts.
Waylon Werner-Bassen, organizer of the canceled Drag Queen Story Hour event, told the Lincoln Journal Star that he intended to rent the museum for two hours after it closed Saturday. Around 50 people signed up to attend through Eventbrite.
“We wanted to make sure Nebraska was a safe space for LGBTQ families,” Werner-Bassen said. Posts with photos of him as his drag persona Mrs. Yuka Layme with negative comments circulated on Facebook before the event.
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird spoke out against those who threatened the event in a Twitter post Tuesday.
Officer Luke Bonkiewicz of the Lincoln Police Department said reports of threats first came from the Children's Museum on Sunday. An investigation into the threats is ongoing, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
The outlet said Bonkiewicz did not elaborate on the content or delivery method of the threats.
According to WOWT, OutNebraska, a group that helps organize pro-LGBTQ events in the state, plans to reschedule the event without a public invitation.
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