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Elizabeth Johnston railed so hard against an LGBTQ-inclusive prom being held at a public library that officials began to fear for the teens' safety and moved the event.
Virulently anti-LGBTQ activist Elizabeth Johnston, who goes by the name "Activist Mommy," launched a phone campaign that succeeded in pushing a branch of the Jacksonville, Fla., Public Library to cancel a queer-inclusive prom at the venue over concerns for the teens' safety, according to local TV station WJAX.
The announcement for the prom at the Willowbranch Library for teens 14-18 read, "To celebrate National Pride Month, LGBTQ teens are invited to create their own 'happily ever after' at The Storybook Pride Prom! Come dressed inspired by your favorite book character -- casual, formal, or in drag -- whatever makes you feel great. Be you!"
Johnston took the announcement of a prom to give LGBTQ teens a safe space to express themselves as a call to action to derail the inclusive event.
"Express your disgust that this perversion is taking place in a taxpayer funded library!" she wrote in a Facebook post along with photos of the drag queens who were slated to appear at the prom.
"For all the sensitive stomachs out there, I apologize for the graphic pictures. I selected milder ones for you. If these perverts are going to come after children, I have to expose it! I know it ain't pretty!" Johnston added.
While Johnston failed to get the event canceled entirely, she did succeed in inspiring about 500 homophobes to call in and express their disdain for the event to the point that library officials feared for the safety of the teens and chose not to hold the prom at the venue. It will be held at another spot that has not yet been disclosed.
"We felt that this event for teens, it was just going to be something that we weren't going to be certain we were able to provide that kind of security," the library's assistant director of community relations and marketing, Chris Boivin, told WJAX.
On the upside, Johnston's hateful post also succeeded in inspiring comments from pro-LGBTQ parents who've said they called the library to thank officials there for attempting to be inclusive of queer youth.
