Mayor Kenney calls Moms for Liberty ‘problematic’ and says city will prioritize safety for participants and protesters

Mayor Jim Kenney denounced the views of Moms for Liberty on Thursday as the group’s three-day convention began in Center City.

“I want to be very clear that as a welcoming and inclusive city, we find this group’s beliefs and values problematic,” Kenney said in a statement, calling the group’s “attempts to disregard history, ban books, and silence conversations about race, gender, and sexuality ... harmful to youth.”

Kenney also stressed that the city’s response would respect both demonstrators’ and convention participants’ rights to free speech, “and protect the constitutional rights of all individuals without regard to the views expressed by any group.”

Mayors don’t typically send out a statement about a mid-sized convention coming to Philadelphia, a city that gets hundreds of conferences and conventions a year.

But most conventions don’t draw the ire that the Moms for Liberty “Joyful Warriors” convention has in heavily Democratic Philadelphia.

The group was designated an extremist “antigovernmental,” group this month by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a veteran civil rights organization that tracks domestic extremism.

In defending its designation, the SPLC noted the group’s slogan that “we do not co-parent with the government,” its support for abolishing the federal Department of Education, and accusations that teachers unions are responsible for indoctrination. The group started with parents wanting schools to reopen during COVID but has since pivoted to targeting diversity education and how LGBTQ issues are handled by schools.

Several protests are planned through the weekend, including a banned book read-athon, dance party protests, and mobile billboards set to circle the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, where the convention is taking place.

Inside the Marriott, the convention will convene about 650 members from chapters around the country. The schedule includes panel discussions related to organizing school board elections and anti-LGBTQ topics such as “Protecting Kids from Gender Ideology.”

A slate of Republican presidential candidates will speak at the conference, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Moms for Liberty has defended its group as one “devoted to empowering parents to be a part of their child’s public school education.”

“Name-calling parents who want to be a part of their child’s education as ‘hate groups’ or ‘bigoted’ just further exposes what this battle is all about,” Moms for Liberty co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich said in a statement.

“Who fundamentally gets to decide what is taught to our kids in school — parents or government employees? We believe that parental rights do not stop at the classroom door and no amount of hate from groups like this is going to stop that.”

Other Democrats also condemned the group Thursday. Councilmember Kendra Brooks called the GOP speakers coming to pitch their campaigns “power-hungry Republicans ... targeting our city and state to inflame the racist and transphobic sentiments.”

“It’s important to send them a clear message” Brooks said. “Pennsylvanians will not go backward. We stand united in protecting young people against attacks on their books, their bodies, and their right to express themselves.”

The Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and the city’s delegation in the state House also weighed in, with state Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) and Jessica Benham (D., Allegheny) calling it “embarrassing that Pennsylvania’s largest city will host one of the nation’s most hostile anti-LGBTQ+ groups during the month of Pride.”

As mayor, Kenney established the Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs, banned conversion therapy for minors, strengthened the Fair Practices Ordinance, and expanded protections for trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Philadelphians.

He’s received some criticism from LGBTQ activists as violence against transgender people has continued in the city and for what they say has been inaction toward protecting homeless communities, which include a disproportionate number of LGBTQ people.

In Council, he was known for his focus on LGBTQ issues, introducing a LGBT Equity Bill that instituted sweeping protections for the LGBTQ community.

Celena Morrison, the city’s director of LGBTQ affairs also released a statement Thursday acknowledging that some Philadelphians may be upset by the visit.

“We know that the presence of Moms for Liberty may stir up fear or distress for our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. We urge all those affected to take the appropriate measures to ensure their well-being while Moms for Liberty is visiting our city.”