Life

Amazing mother explains exactly why she isn’t afraid of drag queen story hours in viral video

Amazing mother explains exactly why she isn’t afraid of drag queen story hours in viral video

Danielle Scampini Linn, a mother in Wisconsin, has received applause online for her moving speech at a PBS News Hour town hall event about the issues that actually matter to her as a parent.

“When I put my kids to bed at night, I’m not afraid of Drag Queen Story Hour. I’m afraid of what’s actually going to happen to them. I’m afraid of what the planet will look like in the next 20 years because we’re not taking care of it,” she said.

Linn was an attendee at a town hall hosted by PBS News Hour’s Judy Woodruff, as a part of “Crossroads: A Conversation with America,” in which Woodruff and her team talk to Americans to find out what unites them and what divides them.

Linn has three children, a five-year-old, a seven-year-old, and a two-year-old. She said she has taken her children to drag queen story hours, and “it’s like going to any other princess party” 

“There is nothing sexual about a drag queen story hour geared towards children,” Linn said. 

Linn then talked about the impact gun violence has had on American society and American families. “What is scary is the idea that I think, every single day when I drop my kids off at school, will I see them come home? or will someone come into the school and shoot them?”

Gun violence, specifically American’s easy access to guns, is especially personal for Linn, who shared that her father died by suicide ten years ago because “he was very easily able to access a gun in this state, despite having a mental illness.”

Linn also stood up for trans kids, denouncing the discrimination and bullying that trans kids face. “I also think, as my kids get older, will they be made to feel othered because people are afraid of their self-expression, and so then they will harm themselves?”

“So when I think about things that are scary when I put my kids to bed at night, I’m not afraid of a drag queen story hour. I’m afraid of what’s actually going to happen to them,” Linn said. 

She blamed the rhetoric that surrounds trans issues and trans rights in right-leaning and right-wing news sources, which creates fearmongering among people.

“It is causing us really not to focus on the issues that are going to keep kids safe,” Linn ended her speech.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Don't forget to share:


Good News is your section for queer joy! Subscribe to our newsletter to get the most positive and fun stories from the site delivered to your inbox every weekend. Send us your suggestions for uplifiting and inspiring stories.


Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

These husbands went from broke to financially successful. Now they want to help you.

Previous article

A U.S. activist allegedly accepted $300K from Russia to push anti-gay laws in Africa

Next article