Some parents reject idea
Pride Month has brought much controversy around the country about how much influence the LGBTQ+ can have in schools, whether that is in regards to being school employees, involvement in the curriculum, pride flags, or any conversation with kids about their sexuality or preference on school grounds. This has led to outrage on both sides and led to protests and crimes committed by both sides pushing their ideology on the other.
Recently, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) introduced the idea of inviting LGBTQ+ classes into the curriculum at all levels and planned on holding an assembly to announce it. This proposal was met with pushback from parents. According to The Guardian, people protesting the event gathered outside wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “Leave our kids alone” and carrying signs with slogans such as “Parental Choice Matters” and “No Pride in Grooming” June 2, the day of the assembly.
One parent, Arielle Aldana, who has a child that attends the school said she does feel that it is not age-appropriate for her elementary school child, but would be in support of the class for her child in middle school, “It has to do with where he is in development,” Aldana said.
On May 22, a small LGBTQ+ flag in a flower pot was set on fire and displayed at the Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood. This, of course, caught the concerns of police officers as they arrived at the scene, “The investigation is ongoing. It is a vandalism hate crime. The hate crime is still significant, but it is a misdemeanor,” Los Angeles Police Department, Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton of the Valley Bureau, said about the incident.
Alberto Carvalho, LAUSD superintendent, watched the protest outside the school.
“The sad reality is that over the past two weeks, individuals who work at this school have been threatened and insulted just for being who they are,” Carvalho said. “A flag that represents many members of our community was burned. That’s just unacceptable. Over what? A reference to a book that represents families in our communities.”
Amid the potential debate over the topic, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors met on June 6 and decided to consider the possibility of creating a commission concerned with the rights and welfare of LGBTQ+ persons throughout the nation’s most populous county. According to the board motion by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, such a commission is needed due to the “ever-increasing bias, prejudice and hate against those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer.”
The proposed panel would ensure that county policies are inclusive of the specific needs of the LGBTQ+ community, including safety from violence. “It is incumbent on the board to ensure that positions and policies it takes are inclusive of all,” according to the motion. “One way of doing that is the creation of the county’s LGBTQ+ Commission, which would review recommendations to the board,” according to a statement released by the panel.
This article is a part of a series of articles for Our Weekly's #StopTheHate campaign and is supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library. #NoPlaceForHateCA,
#StopAAPIHate, #CaliforniaForAll
