Catholic Hate Group Petitions to End Drag Queen Christmas Show

Drag queens have officially sashayed into the "war on Christmas."

A campaign led by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property -- a nonprofit organization of far-right Catholics -- has launched a petition to end A Drag Queen Christmas.

Ominously titled "Return to Order," the campaign is demanding that the Folly Theatre in Kansas City, Mo., cancel its scheduled performance of the drag show on December 17. The theater is one of several stops of A Drag Queen Christmas's national "Naughty Tour," which is described on the theater's website as "an evening of holiday songs and outstanding drag performances with your favorite queens."

These queens, alumni of VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race, vary with each city. The Kansas City stop is set to be hosted by Trinity Taylor, with performances from Sasha Velour, Shea Coulee, Latrice Royale, Aja, Eureka O'Hara, Kim Chi, Farrah Moan, and Chi Chi DeVayne.

However, "Return to Order" is no RuPaul fan. "Such performances feature men dressed in scanty 'drag' and often performing immoral behavior," the petition reads. "To make matters worse, while the performance warns of this 'naughty' behavior, it also says 'all ages welcome'!"

The campaign took particular offense to the idea that children might be in attendance. "This is an insult to the birth of Christ and human dignity," the petition continued. "It blurs the lines established by God regarding sexuality and is a danger to our children and society."

At the time of this article's publishing, the petition has accrued over 13,000 names in support of canceling A Drag Queen Christmas-- nearly halfway to its goal of 30,000.

Drag events that include young audience members have increasingly drawn the ire of conservatives. Drag Queen Story Hour, a popular nonprofit program in which drag queens visit libraries and bookstores and read to children, is routinely crashed by Christian activists.

The group Christ Followers even brought a lawsuit against Houston library directors in an attempt to ban the event, claiming it promoted an ideology that is "immoral, obscene and subversive to human flourishing." The organization lost its case earlier this year.

"Return to Order" describes itself as an antidote to "the abandonment of God and His law and the increasing public recognition of satanic acts, symbols and ideas." Articles on its website include a condemnation of queer inclusion in children's books and Chick-fil-A's "bad decision" to cease donating to anti-LGBTQ charities.

The campaign is run by the American TFP, classified as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group is distinguished by its bright red banner, which is worn as a sash by its members during protests.