Protesters and counter-protesters faced off against each other, but the gathering at the legislature lawn was mostly peaceful.
A protest on the B.C. legislature lawn opposing sexual orientation and gender identity discussions in schools looked more like a Pride festival by late Wednesday afternoon, with rainbow flags and signs with messages like “I was born this gay,” covering the lawn.
Queer people and allies who came out in droves drowned out the voices of those who said they want to protect children by removing all mention of sexual orientation and gender identity from classrooms, including discussions about pronouns. As an English and French teacher, Kraft incorporates SOGI concepts into her lessons by teaching students the French pronouns for non-binary people, and facilitating discussions about how gender affects romance languages, how a person’s identity might have affected the way they wrote poetry or why a writer might have used a pen name for their published work.
Speeches lasted about 40 minutes, before confrontations began and police stepped in and ended the event. Summer Conrad, who helped to plan the anti-SOGI protest, said she’s opposed to “every part” of SOGI in schools and that “it needs an investigation.” Conrad said discussions related to SOGI are leading children to question their own gender identity.
“Everyday I see society pushing heterosexuality and cisgender identity. So, I don’t see why we can’t be represented or discussed or talked about,” Perritt said.
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