Gays Against Groomers Headline Anti-LGBTQ+ Rally in Ft. Lauderdale
A group of far-right individuals spreading lies and distortions about LGBTQ+ youth and adults convened on Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale, a center of queer life in Florida.Promotional materials for the event called it a rally against “child grooming” and “radicalized sexual curriculum,” according to Equality Florida, which denounced the gathering.
Images on posters featured parents protecting a child from a bleeding rainbow. The rally was organized by Moms for Liberty — which works closely with Republican governor Ron DeSantis to demonize trans youth, trans-inclusive doctors, and drag queens — along with organizations like Gays Against Groomers, Florida Fathers for Freedom, and Moms for Liberty Miami.
Newly elected, anti-LGBTQ+ Broward County School Board member Brenda Fam was also expected to attend. Jordan Toste, the southeast regional leader of Gays Against Groomers (pictured above), was one of the scheduled speakers at the rally, according to South Florida Gay News.
Gays Against Groomers calls itself a nonprofit and elicits donations on its website. “We are a coalition of gays against the sexualization, indoctrination and medicalization of children,” the group claims on its site.The idea that LGBTQ+ people are somehow “grooming” youth to become gay, bisexual, or transgender is a false trope that the far-right has clung to for years.
