Homophobia educational seminars: protesters!

Posted April 20, 2006 4:43 PM

Current mood:relieved

Click that link, then "Homophobia Presentation" to see the presentation the Hartford Gay-Straight Alliance delivered last night. The seminars were educational and the goal was to raise awareness of LGBT issues, so that people can be more respectful in their words. We had two sessions, at 3 and 6 p.m. We also attracted protesters!

HUHS GSA Documents
Presentation to the school board
Main presentation to the community
Flyer for the community seminar

The turnout wasn't great - about 20-40 people at either seminar, but I think the fact that we had them was a huge accomplishment. The school received many phone calls this week. Some were to express support, some asked for more info, and some expressed opposition.

The man in the 3rd picture attended half of the first seminar and all of the second one. He voiced his belief that homosexuality is sin, and at the second seminar, he handed out the flyer shown at the bottom. Read the section on equal rights...apparently people believe that gays shouldn't be teachers, policemen, doctors, elected officials, etc...how ridiculous!

The discussion period after each session was interesting and informative. Many community people asked questions, and the discussion lasted 20-30 minutes. Yay!

Side note: The school, after threat of legal action, conceded the Day of Silence issue. We are now allowed to participate, hang signs, do announcements, etc. This year actually turned out pretty well! Awesome!

I have higher quality files if anyone needs them.