By Darlene McCormick Sanchez
GRAPEVINE, Texas—A giant LGBT flag flew over the Gaylord Convention Center, where thousands of young women gathered for a Turning Point USA convention over the weekend in defense of faith and conservatism.
The Young Women’s Leadership Summit held in the shadow of the rainbow flag was a reminder to attendees of how far radical left-wing ideologies have spread.
Much of the summit focused on politics, faith, marriage, and children—and how to stay true to those conservative beliefs in the face of left-wing attacks.
Powerhouse speakers such as commentator Candace Owens, swimmer Riley Gaines, and Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert received rockstar welcomes at what has been billed the largest event in the country for female conservatives.
Besides hosting more than 30 speakers, the three-day event included sponsor booths, meet & greets, and break-out sessions for just under 3,000 attendees, according to the organizers.
The event also featured appearances from Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, a national student group promoting free market policies and limited government. The group caters mainly to high school and college-age students.
Cheers greeted Greene as young women, cell phones in hand, jumped to their feet to record her entrance to the stage on June 11.
Greene said that young women today needed courage. She never imagined she’d be elected to Congress or be speaking to large crowds because as a girl, she shied away from giving class presentations that “terrified” her.
That changed after years of seeing people not speak up for fear of being politically incorrect, she said.
As if to prove a point, she spoke out against the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center’s decision to display the pride flag, saying “Shame on them.”
“I’m surprised none of y’all has shimmed up that flagpole yet today,” she added, noting that the rainbow flag was just as big as the American and Texas flag.
“It shouldn’t be about what people do sexually that causes us to hang a flag somewhere,” she said.
Others attending the summit criticized the Gaylord for not agreeing to take the pride flag down when asked.
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said the organizers on site asked the Gaylord to remove the pride flag but were told Marriott, as the corporate owner, had the final say.
Kirk personally asked for the flag to be taken down but his request was denied as well, Kolvet said.
Discussions of returning to the Gaylord for the 2025 summit are now “up in the air.” A boycott isn’t out of the question, Kolvet said.
“It’s really unfortunate. It’s definitely a corporate thing with Marriott,” he said. “We call it the cultural colonization of America.”
Two Minnesota teens attending the conference sitting outside where the flag was displayed expressed their displeasure.
“I just hope Turning Point never comes back here,” Paulina Rossini said.
“It’s so disappointing,” added Candace Lenzen, who expressed her ire at the pride flag being about the same height as the Texas flag.
While speaking, Greene said that divisive race and gender ideology have been percolating below the surface of American society for years.
“These movements—not only are they political, they’re spiritual,” Greene added.
Greene said that Satan was at the heart of attacks on women because he hates life and all who can create it.
Being a mother has given her the courage to fight, she said.
Society makes women feel inadequate or unattractive if they want to become wives and mothers, but the reality is that being a mother has been the most joyful achievement of her life, Greene said.
Owens, too, spoke on the theme of family and motherhood to an adoring crowd.
She said that women have been mocked as uncool for cooking meals for their husbands and children in today’s society.
Owens said that people think they’re smart because they have college degrees, yet they cannot fix a meal for themselves or anyone else.
“Well, what good is a degree if you can’t feed yourself?” she asked.
She said that idea drove her to learn to grow her food out of her garden, just like her grandmother, who knew how to survive.
Owens said women are naturally nurturing and empathetic, but those qualities have been used against them by the Left.
Women initially pitied men who identified as female and went along with it to “just be nice.” But now, pronoun use is mandated in many settings because not enough women spoke against it.
Emotions and feelings are good if they are channeled toward making families strong, Owens said.
“It’s not natural for women to stay silent when children are being targeted,” she said.
Transgenderism aimed at children in stores like Target is an example of what makes women stand up in fierce opposition, she said.
Kirk also spent time during the summit to address questions from young women on both political and personal topics.
During a question and answer session on June 10, Kirk said he believes Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could do more to secure the Texas border with Mexico, where thousands more illegal migrants have been pouring into the United States since President Joe Biden took office.
“It’s not immigration; it’s an invasion into our country,” Kirk said. “The governor of Texas should be a lot firmer on this. He’s been OK, but not great.”
He said that the border crisis represents a pattern where criminals and trespassers are celebrated, while law-abiding Americans are penalized.
“We are seeing a set of customs where heroin addicts, vagrants, arsonists, and violent criminals get away with whatever they want to do, people trespassing into the nation, and law-abiding citizens have to pay the price,” he said.
Kirk said that more people who have come to the United States legally need to speak up against illegal immigration.
He pivoted from politics to marriage and career, telling young women they must decide for themselves what matters most. If they are lucky, they might get both.
He advocated for young women to save intimacy for marriage and to weight the consequences of putting off matrimony and children for a career.
“I hear stories every day, ‘Charlie, I decided to go become a partner at a law firm, and now I’m 32 years old, and I can’t find anyone because all the good ones are gone,’” he said.
Students Anika Reaves, a recent high school graduate, and Emeri Sherman, a high school sophomore, said they were thrilled to attend this year’s summit.
Both said the event had ignited a fire in them to get into politics and fight for their beliefs.
“This was the start of my standing up,” Reaves said. “I do believe that we will win back America.”
