San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus faces death threats after releasing satirical music video

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus says its members are being harassed online and receiving death threats after a satirical video that prominently features the phrase "we'll convert your children" went viral among conservatives.

The video, which is no longer public on the group's official accounts but can be found elsewhere online, was first posted Thursday last week. The chorus says it did not start picking up steam in right-wing spaces until the middle of this week.

"They have taken the lyrics out of context to support a narrative that suits their intolerant and hateful needs," the Gay Men's Chorus wrote in a statement. "It is obvious the tongue-in-cheek humor is lost on many. As a result, we have seen the user comments on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram become increasingly alarming. Emails to individuals and the chorus office are vitriolic – including threats of harm."

The chorus did not immediately respond to an SFGATE request for comment.

"You think that we'll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked, buddy, just this once you're correct," the song's opening goes. "We'll convert your children, happens bit by bit, quietly and subtly and you will barely notice it. You can keep them from disco, warn about San Francisco, make them wear pleated pants, we don't care. We'll convert your children, we'll make them tolerant and fair."

When the song goes to an ensemble bridge, the group sings, "We're coming for your children. ... Your children will care about fairness and justice for others, your children will work to convert their sisters and brothers, then soon we're almost certain your kids will start converting you. The gay agenda is coming home, the gay agenda is here."

The video spawned numerous articles on right-leaning websites, and conservative social media users called the song "sick" and "disgusting."

The chorus said in the statement the song was chosen for a video "because of how loved it was when we performed it live here in San Francisco at Pride, at SingOuts, in South Carolina and at the Pride Showcase."

Some right-wing social media users claimed that members of the chorus were registered sex offenders, but a check of a Megan's Law database conducted by SFist found that the members in question merely shared a name with offenders on the registry "who are registered hundreds of miles away from San Francisco."

The chorus said it is communicating with law enforcement as a result of some of the threats and that its "social media and marketing staff are working around the clock to alert moderators at YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and to file DMCA’s (take down of websites featuring stolen content)" in an attempt to stop the sharing of the video.

"We will always accept others who may hold different values, but when violence is their choice of expression, since 1969 we have not backed down," the group's statement reads. "After decades of children being indoctrinated and taught intolerance for anyone who is 'other,' from using the Bible as a weapon to reparative therapy, it’s our turn."