Last Updated on June 11, 2022
GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin is facing criticism from both sides of the aisle over a “pride month” reception he hosted at the Virginia State Capitol. While the Youngkin Administration says that pride month helps to “strengthen” the “spirit of Virginia,” his move has been blasted by conservatives and leftists alike, with the LGBT lobby’s Equality Virginia group dubbing the event a “performative” measure.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s embrace of pride month comes as corporate America, mainstream media, and the establishment of both political parties have moved, seemingly in unison, to deeply embed the LGBT lobby’s far-left agenda into the American psyche and culture. The White House, along with the governors of several states, have issued official proclamations marking June as “pride month,” though Youngkin has stopped short of taking such action.
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This past Wednesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin hosted a reception in the rotunda of Virginia’s capitol building following a number of pro-LGBT events and demonstrations that took place throughout the capital city of Richmond and on the capitol grounds. While over 100 guests were reportedly invited to Youngkin’s pride month reception, the event was closed to the press.
Several invitees opted to boycott the reception, with the far-left LGBT group Equality Virginia blasting Governor Youngkin’s pride month reception as a “performative” event.
“Equality Virginia is disappointed in Gov. Youngkin’s performative attempt to celebrate Virginia’s diverse LGBTQ+ community by hosting a Pride event,” Narissa Rahaman, an executive director with Equality Virginia, said in a statement made explaining the group’s boycott. “His cherry-picking of invitees sends a message that he is unwilling to listen to the LGBTQ+ organizations and community members who have worked tirelessly for decades to make our commonwealth inclusive and welcoming for all.”
Rahaman and Equality Virginia went on to lament Governor Youngkin’s entire political platform, saying that he “spent months campaigning on a platform of homophobia and transphobia,” during his bid for Governor and claimed that his pro-family politics represent a direct attack on “trans kids.”
Youngkin drew national media attention during the 2021 campaign as he, and a wide-ranging coalition of parents out to protect their kids, publicly opposed the far-left, pro-trans policies being enforced on children in Virginia schools. In Loudoun County, those policies led to a “gender-fluid” male in a skirt being granted access to girls’ restrooms and proceeding to commit serial rape, which he was later convicted of in court. Upon taking office, Youngkin ordered an investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools, where the local school board has been accused of engaging in a documented cover-up of the rapes for political purposes, even arresting a victim’s father for demanding answers.
Amidst widespread criticism from the left and a baffled response from conservatives on social media, who accused him of engaging in a failed virtue signal, Governor Youngkin’s office defended his pride month reception in a statement made to The Washington Blade, “America’s LGBTQ news source,” telling the publication that events like the pride reception “help strengthen our communities and the spirit of Virginia.”
“The governor is committed to leading on behalf of all Virginians,” Youngkin press secretary Macaulay Porter reportedly told The Washington Blade. “We are one Virginia and events like this help strengthen our communities and the spirit of Virginia.”
