Montana newspaper forced to retract libelous attack on MassResistance – published after our strong testimony in State House on Drag Queen bill.
Drag Queens in costume came to testify against bill protecting children. Media treated that as perfectly normal, but demonized MassResistance’s testimony.
But the bill ended up passing in committee!
February 20, 2023
This man testified that he reads to children at a Drag Queen Story Hour, and said it protects kids! Being a Drag Queen helps him find connection as a "queer trans individual," he said.In Montana, MassResistance has been working closely with state legislators in the State House on a number of key pro-family bills. We’ve also been helping people across the state get involved in the process to counter the leftists opposing these good bills.
Bill HB359 would protect children from “Drag” shows and other perverse adult entertainment in schools, libraries, and local businesses. The bill is titled:
An act prohibiting minors from attending drag shows; prohibiting minors from entering sexually oriented businesses; prohibiting drag performances in libraries or schools that receive state funding; providing definitions; and providing penalties.
Normal people would understand that protecting children in this way is simply common sense. But the LGBT movement and their leftwing allies – who are obsessed with children – are fighting hard to stop this legislation. They want no barriers whatsoever between their radical sexual ideology and children.
On Feb. 9, the Montana House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on the bill. It was very well attended.
The Montana House Judiciary Committee prepares to hear testimony on HB 359.Not surprisingly, the far-left organizations who came to testify against it included the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign (a large national homosexual group), the Montana Federation of Public Employees, Planned Parenthood of Montana, and the Montana Library Association.
But the radicals also brought in some bizarre Drag Queens to testify against the bill! It was certainly a curious tactic: These obviously disturbed men dressed in garish women’s clothes were there to convince legislators that it’s perfectly safe for them to be around children.
This man did a weird dance (above) then went into a detailed discussion about how Drag Queen acts are not obscene.In addition, several people, many representing pro-family groups, testified in favor of the bill. But one who stood out was Arthur Schaper, our MassResistance national Field Director, who was allowed to testify via Zoom.
Arthur didn’t sugarcoat it:
Drag entertainment is explicitly and inherently sexual and sexually deviant. It is not PG-rated, but perverse. Parents can’t take their kids to R-rated movies. And they shouldn’t be taking them to drag shows.
Our organization, MassResistance, exposed not one but TWO sex offenders who had gotten into libraries as drag queens to read to children. We exposed drag queens in Maryland who were pushing prostitution, and in Georgia, who were pushing alcoholism. We even exposed a convicted male prostitute.
Drag queens are not role models, and they are not for kids. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a drag queen allowed a young girl to touch his crotch. As one social worker has testified, “Drag Queens blur a child’s natural instinct to protect themselves from sexual predators.”
Some are claiming this is an attack on the so-called LGBT community. But this is my question to LGBT activists: Why are they so determined to have garish parodies of women groom children? Why are they so obsessed with this?
Do the right thing. Stop allowing LGBT militants to bully and shame and groom children.
His testimony certainly got people’s attention. In addition, Arthur sent every member of the committee a wealth of information on the real dangers to children of “Drag” performers. We suspect that they hadn’t seen most of that before.
Arthur attacked in Montana newspaper
As we all know, a common tactic by leftist “journalists” in their news articles is to engage in character assassination against conservatives, quoting from some extremist left-wing source. It goes against traditional journalism ethics, and used to be considered extremely unprofessional.
The Flathead Beacon is one of the two major newspapers in northwest Montana. It's free online and is very widely read. The day after the Judiciary Committee hearing, the paper published an article prominently attacking Arthur Schaper and MassResistance because of his pro-family testimony that day.
[A] proponent of the bill was Arthur Schaper, field director for “pro-family” activist organization MassResistance, which has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center … Reports by the Southern Poverty Law Center have chronicled Schaper’s ties to prominent white nationalists …
This is extremely libelous. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been completely discredited across the political spectrum. They label hundreds of religious and pro-family organizations as “hate groups.” Their attempts to “tie” Arthur to “prominent white nationalists” is absurd. There were no logical connections to such people at all. (It was as if they’d both shopped at the same Walmart.) The SPLC itself is a hate group.
Unfortunately, too many conservatives simply cower when the leftist press libels them. But MassResistance handles this differently.
Arthur (and others) successfully fight back!
Arthur immediately lashed back at the reporter, her editor, and the publisher in an email:
I was disappointed by Denali Sagner's attempt at journalism in the Feb. 10 edition of the Flathead Beacon. For her to quote a universally discredited hate group like the Southern Poverty Law Center is abject defamation, and to slander MassResistance as a hate group is unconscionable. I have no ties to white nationalist groups. That is outright defamation. You cannot hide behind the SPLC, nor publish their lies and excuse yourself for referencing them. Remove those defamatory references to the SPLC immediately.
Arthur also sent them a detailed description of the SPLC’s dishonest tactics across the country, successful lawsuits against them, etc. It is at its core an extremist left-wing attack group. And he reminded them that newspapers are not immune from such lawsuits.
One Flathead Beacon reader also forwarded to us what he emailed the editor:
Name-calling without basis is the lowest form of "journalism". In her article, Denali Sagner cites the corrupt Southern Poverty Law Center as a legitimate source. She needs to educate herself about that organization which makes money by spewing hateful, unfounded accusations. The Beacon needs to apologize to Mr. Schaper and his organization MassResistance.
We suspect there was more feedback like this!
The newspaper backs down
The next day, Arthur received an email from the editor. They had removed all references to the Southern Poverty Law Center and their libelous attacks on him.
Here’s how the article as it now appears:
The bill on Drag Queens passes the committee with overwhelming support
On Feb. 15, the Judiciary Committee voted on Bill HB359, and it passed by 13-6. A great hurdle was crossed! All the pressure from the LGBT movement and the Left was unsuccessful. From what we’ve been told, the full House vote is likely to reflect this margin!
Final thoughts
What more is there to say? The Left thrives on our side being confused and cowardly. But if we aggressively and completely tell the truth and don’t back down, good things happen.
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