homecoming queen

Crowd Supports Trans Teen at Rally Against Hate Group

The hate group, which we all know, will not be named. They don’t deserve public recognition for their deeds. Lets just say they are a family who claims to be a church, and they reside across the street from the Equality House in Topeka.

They came to Kansas City October 1st to protest transgender homecoming queen, Landon Patterson, at her school. But classmates and alumni of Oak Park High, and members of the community at large, weren’t going to let the protest happen without fighting back. They arranged their own rally in support of Landon to take place at the same time.

The police presence was large, but supporters were determined not to physically confront the protesters. Instead, a crowd of 400-500 people gathered at a park next to the school and organized a parade of support that marched from the park, past the school and down to the corner where the “crowd” of six protestors were gathered. With t-shirts saying “I stand with Landon,” signs, banners, and chants of “Long live the queen,” supporters crossed the street to surround the protestors. In less than five minutes, the protestors decided to walk back to their one van and drive away. The protest which was scheduled for 1 hour and 15 minutes lasted only 40 minutes.

The crowd of supporters was made up of Landon’s friends and classmates, parents of friend, alumni supporting the school’s policy of inclusion, and members and allies of the LGBT community.

Watch some of the local news coverage here.

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