Over the weekend, Alabama's newest LGBTQ+ group, PFLAG, held its first meeting in Cullman. The new chapter is the eighth in the state.
The new chapter was heralded in an article from the left-wing Alabama Reflector, which was republished by left-wing AL(dot)com, an outlet that had been critical of Cullman for the unproven allegation it was a "sundown town."
PFLAG claims on its website that it's "the nation's largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people." However, a closer look at the group's values and goals reveals a radical progressive agenda targeting young children.
Here are five facts about the organization that typify its far left-wing bias:
The PFLAG acronym doesn't stand for anything anymore. In 2014, there was an internal fight among members of the group upset that the group's name, "Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays," wasn't inclusive enough. Members were angry, citing the lack of acknowledgment for "bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified individuals." There was also pushback by those who took issue with the focus on the family because many in the group rejected traditional family and family titles, preferring to use the term "loved one" in place of parent and grandparents.
PFLAG is at the center of lawsuits pushing to block state protections of children against abusive medical practices, including the sterilization and surgery of healthy children. They have sued Governor Abbott of Texas for his order directing the state Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate child abuse related to so-called "gender-transitioning procedures."
Texas has sued PFLAG to get the names of suspected abusers; Attorney General Ken Paxton said PFLAG appears to have "significant information about persons or practitioners" violating the law.
"Texas passed SB 14 to protect children from damaging, unproven medical interventions with catastrophic lifelong consequences for their health," Paxton said. "Any organization seeking to violate this law, commit fraud, or weaponize science and medicine against children will be held accountable."
PFLAG says that churches that reject the LGBTQ+ agenda "have given Christians a bad name." Their website also states that "Muslim communities have been subjected to Islamophobia, racism, and violence based on ignorance. In some ways, the contemporary Muslim experience mirrors the LGBTQ+ experience. Support for those whose identities intersect with both communities is all the more important." Finally, for those within the Jewish faith, they promote organizations that "concentrate on institutional and theological change to fully integrate Judaism and the full spectrum of sexual and gender expression.
PFLAG provides a resource titled "Our Children," which describes that "When a baby is born — and thanks to modern technology, often long before — a doctor takes a quick look at the baby's visible sex organs and assigns that baby a sex." Going on to say, "Most people, whether they are transgender or cisgender (meaning, simply, not transgender) have an innate sense of their gender identity from a young age." To help parents or loved one understand their children, the resource describes, "People who are transgender can identify their sexual orientation as gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual or queer (just to name a few!) just like a cisgender (meaning non-transgender) person can." Find the full document here.
PFLAG also has a resource for Grandparents of LGBTQ+ children. The Frequently Asked Questions for that guide include the question, "My grandchild is so young. How can they possibly know they are transgender at such an early age?" To which PFLAG says, "For some kids, this happens as early as toddlerhood." It goes on to specifically state that prayer will not help the child "grow out" of the phase. Find the full document here.
Lance Conn, the Cullman group's founder, recently stepped down as the Chair of the Cullman County Democrats. He is also a supporter of the Read Freely Alabama Cullman Chapter, a group that advocates for sexually explicit material in children's libraries.
As previously reported by 1819 News, Conn celebrated when the Cullman Library Board decided to keep three challenged books in the children's section of the library.
"Your representation made the difference! This is not something that one or two people can fight against alone," Lance Conn, an admin of the Read Freely Alabama Cullman Chapter's Facebook page and chair of the Cullman County Democrats, said in a post. "Thank you for being a village! Thank you for fighting for others who are so tired from having to defend their existence."
The books in question included "Lili and Dunkin," a story about the relationship between a transgender girl whose father continues to use his birth name and a bipolar basketball player who performs better when he skips his medications, "Heather Has Two Mommies," which, as the title suggests, describes the life of a young girl who has to explain to kids at school that Heather doesn't have a daddy and "Prince and Knight" is a story in which a young prince falls in love with a knight after vanquishing an evil dragon from the land.
PFLAG has most recently joined the efforts of the radical left and media to mischaracterize Trump's executive orders that protect girls' sports and spaces.
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at aprylmarie.fogel@1819news.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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