Texas Republican Group: Pride Is Demon Month

A group of conservative Republicans in Texas is displeased with the “flamboyance” of Pride Month. At least, that’s the message they’re sending on social media.

The Collin County Conservative Republicans, located north of Dallas, posted (and then deleted) several items to their Facebook page last week critical of the LGBTQ+ community and Pride Month.

“Welcome to the month of the Demon,” the group wrote Thursday morning. “Protect your children. #JustSayNOtoRainbows.”

Among the items posted to the group’s Facebook page on Thursday, according to screenshots shared with The Advocate, were several photos of a meme co-opted by right-wing bigots.

Lauren Wiztke, a losing 2020 GOP Senate candidate in Delaware, known for her QAnon adherence and anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs and who once produced a bizarre anti-vax film, tweeted a photo recently depicting the phrase “Pride Month” slowly changing into “Demon” in rainbow text.

The version of the meme in the GOP group included the text, “A little hint at what dwells at the heart of ‘pride month.’”

A trans, queer artist named Veya is, however, the owner of the art. In April 2022, Veya created this art to take the term for empowerment, and it’s now available on a T-shirt through Red Bubble, The Mary Suereports.

Another post on the group’s page read, “LGBTQIA+ Ideology is dangerous. #justsaynotorainbows”

“CCCR is not participating in anti-LGBTQ+ posts on Facebook,” claimed the group’s president Jessica Bartnick in an email to The Advocate in response to a request for comment. “Demon Month merchandise is something that the LGBTQIA+ designers are selling for Pride Month.”

However, some posts on the group’s page remain critical of Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ community.

“Anyone else find it strange that the FBI has social media,” asked a post on the page alongside an exasperated face emoji. Beneath the text was an image of a post on Instagram by the FBI in honor of Pride Month.

In another post from last week, the group uses the false slur “groomer” while celebrating the conservative attack on Target’s bottom line after the retailer stocked (and then removed) Pride Month-related inventory in its stores.

“Down $12.4B is the exact message we need to send companies who want to promote groomers,” the Collin County Conservative Republicans posted.

The group’s extreme positions are evident by its support for the state’s impeached attorney general, Ken Paxton. Republicans in the legislature supported the embattled lawyer’s removal, but the Collin County group is standing behind Paxton, who is from the area.