A Far Right Moms Group Is Targeting Students. These Women Are Fighting Back.

[Jilly_in_VA]

Jen Cousins remembers the exact moment she decided she had to stop Moms for Liberty. At a school board meeting in Orange County, Florida in October 2021, Proud Boys member Jacob Engels stood up to speak with a copy of the book Gender Queer in his hand.

Cousins, who had just given the same book to her gender non-binary 12-year-old child, watched as the meeting descended into chaos. During Engels’ speech to the board, the Proud Boy, an acolyte of Roger Stone and a well-known member of Florida’s far-right, read out an out-of-context segment of the book, which is about the author Maia Kobabe coming out as nonbinary in high school. Engels was kicked out of the meeting, but his stunt had the desired effect: The book was removed from school libraries in the district.

Cousins knew where Engels had gotten the book from, because she’d watched when, as Engels prepared to stand in front of the meeting, member of the extremist “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty Alicia Farrant had handed it to him.

After Gender Queer and other books were banned in Orange County, Cousins joined with Stephana Ferrell, a mom to two biracial children in the county, to create the Florida Freedom to Read Project to combat the banning of more than 1,100 books from Florida’s libraries, and the work of groups like Moms for Liberty, which has helped ban hundreds of pro-LGBTQ books from school libraries.

But the more Cousins pushed back against book bans, the more Farrant, who is now an Orange County School Board member, and Moms for Liberty, came after her.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ezek/moms-for-liberty-book-banning-lgbtq

I think we can all agree that 98% of Proud Boys are not parents and have no business at school board meetings, for starters....

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. And we must fight back against these right-wing idiots!

If we don't, then we get steam-rolled into the dust.

[flying_wahini]

2. I think that ONLY parents of children in the same district should be allowed to attend.

Sure some will disagree but think it would put a stop to this nonsense.

In DFW area we had visitor parents from all over the country going around to disrupt procedures.

[xmas74]

4. We have a group from all over the county

Coming in to speak at our city council meetings about banning all drag in the city limits.
Not a single one of those damn fools live in the city.
Several are also proud members of MfL.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. And Residents

I was asked to attend as an ally and homeowner our local board meetings (I have a local reputation for being a fire brand). If you live in a district under attack - show up. We had assholes from down South up here.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

8. I'm no fan

of right wing nutcases disrupting school board meetings, but I'm not of favor of banning non-parents. Anyone who is paying for the local school system, which would be everyone living in that district, should be able to voice their thoughts in a respectful manner.

Good public schools are important to the entire community, not just parents.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

9. I'd extend that to any taxpayer in the district

Regardless of they have any children attending. That's only fair, because if you're paying for something, you deserve a right to speak up about how the money gets spent. We who no longer have children in public schools still deserve to have a say.

[BradBo]

3. Moms for Liberty, or Bitch's for a Theocracy.

[barbtries]

5. can't they sue these people

for slander?

pedophiles and groomers? Prove it or pay up!

aargh it's so fascist and frightening what's going on.

[LostOne4Ever]

6. This is what I would like to know

Why can they say these things and not get hit with slander?

[B.See]

10. The so-called Mom's for "Liberty" is a hate group.

The "liberty" to HATE.