In the southern California city of Glendale, a protest and counter-protest took place outside of the building for the Glendale Unified School Board and resulted in at least three arrests due to a brawl between people.
Local news outlet Fox 11 News reported that the school board was voting to reconsider curriculum that included LGBTQIA+ material and issues. One controversial issue was the use of preferred gender pronouns for students attending schools in the school district, which follows state law.
Because of the fracas, the local police asked the school board to go into recess, halting official business, until the police could keep the situation under control. The police declared an unlawful assembly to encourage people to disperse from the vicinity of the building and also insisted that the public comment period be cut short.
When the school board reconvened, the board members voted unanimously to go forward with the curriculum and declare June as “Pride Month.”
Police chief in Glendale, Manuel Cid, blamed a “handful of agitators” on both sides for the fracas.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement, which criticized the “hate we saw on full display.” Newsom said, “What should have been a routine vote — simply recognizing Pride Month for the fourth year in a row — turned to violence. The words of the resolution did not change from years past, but what has changed is a wave of division and demonization sweeping our nation.”
Yet the incident highlights not only the political divisiveness that is pushed by the mainstream media and cable news pundits, but also the divisive nature of the gender identity ideology when it meets people who live traditional family values. For years, parts of Glendale have had a significant Armenian population, which tend to be religious conservatives, and the introduction of gender identity ideology can be viewed as a direct assault on the Armenian community’s values.
