UTLA released the following statement to the media on the homophobic protest in front of LAUSD headquarters on August 22:

LGBTQIA+ educators, students, and families deserve to be safe and protected in our schools. They deserve to be celebrated and uplifted in our classrooms. They deserve to see themselves reflected in their curriculum. Nothing will ever change the fact that our LGBTQIA+ siblings belong and are welcome everywhere.

The 35,000+ public school educators of UTLA condemn any and all efforts to strip the LGBTQIA+ community of their rights and protections.

The rally today in front of City Hall and LAUSD is just that: an effort to scare and intimidate our queer and trans siblings. We won’t let anyone come after the LGBTQIA+ community. We will not be intimidated by their heinous attempts to intimidate and doxx LGBTQIA+ individuals and their educator allies.

For a far-right movement to throw a homophobic rally in front of a school board meeting under the banner of “parental rights” is an insult to parents across Los Angeles.

Thousands of parents go above and beyond to care for their queer/trans children. Many parents in our district are members of the LGBTQIA+ community themselves. Parental involvement is cherished and appreciated at our schools.

The fascist movement in this city is not fighting for any rights; just the opposite.

They seek the oppression of the LGBTQIA+ community. They want to see queer and trans history erased. They want to drive out LGBTQIA+ educators, parents, and students from our classrooms — all in service to a hateful agenda that fears anything different, that fights to roll back social progress, and seeks to subjugate anyone who doesn’t fit in their warped vision of the world.

That’s why they fought to ban books and remove an accurate history of race from the curriculum. It’s why they attacked Saticoy Elementary, Glendale Unified, and other schools. It is why they were in front of City Hall and LAUSD headquarters today.

UTLA is committed to defending our communities and protecting our schools as sanctuaries for educators, students, and families, where diverse identities are recognized. We will fight to center queer and trans history and culture.

We will build a liberated world where all are welcome, all are loved, and all are safe.

Now is the time to protect our queer and trans community members. UTLA stands shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQIA+ community today and all the days to come.