In yet another sign that we are living in the dark ages—as if another sign were needed—a nonprofit organization will be hosting an event for LGBTQ youth on the premises of a church in Naples, Florida, which will include a drag show.

According to reporting by Fox News, the event is the inaugural “Youth Pride Conference,” which is hosted by GLSEN Collier. The event is scheduled to take place this coming Saturday at Naples United Church of Christ (UCC), and is intended to host youth between the ages of 12 and 18 for an all-day event designed “for LGBTQ youth seeking to explore LGBTQ-related issues they face today.”

“Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all attendees as well as a drag show from some of our local drag queens,” the conference’s Eventbrite page notes.

But there’s much more to it than that. The Youth Pride Conference is also scheduled to feature various breakout sessions with a number of presenters from the local Naples area and across the state. Among the topics to be discussed in these sessions will be mental health coping strategies, gender dysphoria, “gender and biology,” “inclusive sex education” presented by a Planned Parenthood representative, “forbidden queer literature,” “sexuality and science” (always a crowd pleaser) presented by an “evolutionary biologist,” “political action and advocacy,” and “intersectionality and prejudices within the community.”

Isaac Salazar, the Outreach and Education Coordinator for the Zebra Coalition of Orlando, will deliver the keynote address for the conference.

Fox News also reports that the event includes a registration for that requires attendees to acknowledge the conference isn’t affiliated with either the Naples UCC or Collier County Public Schools.

The event drew greater attention when Christina Pushaw, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, tweeted a report by the local news site Florida’s Voice that alleged the event’s organizers intended using local school parking lots to arrange free shuttle transportation to the event.

Thank you @FLVoiceNews for exposing this and for making @collierschools aware of the situation! https://t.co/NzdlRjK1Fa

— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) May 12, 2022

The Collier County School District, however, disavowed any knowledge or sponsorship of the event, and refused authorization to the event organizers to use district schools as pickup and drop-off points for the conference.

“The District was never informed nor contacted about this event,” the district stated, according to The Washington Examiner. “[Collier County Public Schools] is not a sponsor of the event, which is being held at a private facility. CCPS also neither authorized nor approved the transportation of CCPS students to and from district school sites by the event organizers.”

“Any inference to the contrary is fully rejected by CCPS,” the district’s statement continued. “To this end, CCPS has spoken with the event organizer and explained that the information on the registration form, and any associated flyer, must be immediately corrected to reflect that CCPS is not a co-sponsor nor will it allow its school sites to be used as transit points for the pickup and drop-off of students for this event.”

This latest dustup comes amid a great deal of recent controversy surrounding Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, traduced by Democrats and leftist opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The legislation, which merely banned sexual instruction for children in grades K-3, was signed into law in late March by Gov. DeSantis, who then promptly went on to deliver a rebuke to the activist Disney Company — which seems to be nothing more than an arm of the LGBTQ lobby — by stripping them of their autonomous governing powers in their central Florida enclave.

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Todd Jaquith

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"Originally from South Florida, Todd Jaquith now lives in sunny Santa Fe, New Mexico. He holds a degree in Anthropology from Florida Atlantic University."

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