Brawl erupts as protesters clash over LGBTQ+ policies in school district
A fight broke out as several hundred protesters gathered outside the Glendale Unified School District headquarters in Los Angeles to protest LGBTQ+ curricula in schools. (Sergio Olmos)
An Armenian parent in California, who was embroiled in the protest as a Glendale Unified School District board meeting occurred last week, called out a teacher for evoking the Armenian genocide in defense of LGBTQ and minorities in the country.
"It's a completely ridiculous statement. To even conflate the two issues is insane," "Joseph," who does not want to disclose his full name, told Fox News Digital in reaction to the teacher’s statements.
While tensions were high during a protest that eventually devolved into a brawl, the June 6 school board meeting became heated among board officials and community members.
The Glendale Unified School Board listened as members of the public debated LGBTQ+ issues while the board considered a resolution to designate June as LGBTQ+ Pride month.
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Some parents spoke up and asked they be given a say over what their children are exposed to in school. They asked for permission to opt their children out of aspects of the LGBTQ+ curriculum. Others defended the district's policies, saying that no one wants to "turn straight kids gay" and pointing out that LGBTQ+ youth are at higher risk for suicide and Pride is about love and acceptance.
A video of a woman, who identified herself as a teacher in the area, spoke in defense of the LGBTQ+ community and criticized the "heteronormative, Judeo-Christian, patriarchal, imperialist, capitalist system."
"I'm a teacher in the district, and I also teach in LAUSD. I have two students in the district," the teacher said. "I deal with a lot of the trauma of LGBT youth related to the heteronormative, Judeo-Christian, patriarchal, imperialist, capitalist system that oppresses them."
She continued, "Why critical race theory? I'm not just here in support of our LGBTQ youth. It's all connected. I'm in support of critical race theory and diversity, inclusion and equity training."
The teacher's comments went viral.
Many of the parents who were protesting the meetings were Armenian. The teacher attempted to compare the Armenian genocide to the risk of suicide by LGBTQ+ youth and said kids know if they are trans at 3 years old.
"Armenians talk about the genocide, but they received SSI, but they don’t want to talk about the indigenous genocide of 1850 and the lack of reparations for Black and Indigenous people in this country," she said. "How dare you as marginalized people come here, and you don't want to talk about the oppressed trans youth … your kids are even learning what they need to learn in this that 1 in 2 will commit suicide and that 95% of kids will know they're trans when they are 3, 4, or 5 years old."
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Joseph took offense to the teacher's comparison.
"A genocide of 1.5 million at least Armenians by the Turkish Ottoman Turks … it's complete gaslighting on the other side," he said. "All I have got to say is kids are not allowed to drink before 21. They're not allowed to have tattoos before 18. They're not allowed to buy guns before 18. And somehow, some way, they have enough common sense to be able to choose what gender they are like."
Joseph was part of the several hundred protesters and a group of Armenians who gathered outside the Glendale Unified School District headquarters in Los Angeles. There were counter-protesters holding Pride flags to show support for gender and sexual identity curriculum in schools.
Tensions hit a breaking point when physical fights broke out between the two sides. It is unclear how the fights started.
School officials said they were deeply saddened by the unrest and that those involved were not affiliated with the Glendale Unified community.
Protestors clash outside the district offices as Glendale police declare an unlawful assembly as they protest for and against how gender and sexual identity should be taught to children and protected in schools during a school board meeting at the Glendale Unified School District offices on June 6, 2023. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
Joseph, who sends his kids to private shool, said the community is going to stand up and aim to "remove this disgusting topic" from schools.
"The bottom line is the Armenian community and all other communities with parents that actually care for their kids … they're going to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Armenian community. And what we're going to do is completely remove this disgusting topic from our schools," he said. "This has no business in our schools if you put any type of sexualization, regardless if you're LGBTQ or straight or gay or whatever it may be, that shouldn't even be discussed at the level that they want to push this, which is 5-year-old, 6-year-old, 7-year-olds."
Protestors clash outside the district offices as Glendale police declare an unlawful assembly as they protest for and against how gender and sexual identity should be taught to children and protected in schools during a school board meeting at the Glendale Unified School District offices on June 6, 2023. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
"It's like it's insanity," Joseph added.
Another parent who was also part of the protest spoke with Fox News Digital and blasted the teacher's comments.
"I've been trying to wake the community up to the gender ideology and the trans policies for several months, and we finally are getting a lot of traction," said "Henry," a father of a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old.
Henry claimed to be the leader in the parental pushback against school administrators.
"None of this would happen without the Armenian parents and community members," Henry said.
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Protestors clash outside the district offices as Glendale police declare an unlawful assembly as they protest for and against how gender and sexual identity should be taught to children and protected in schools during a school board meeting at the Glendale Unified School District offices on June 6, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Furthermore, Henry told Fox News Digital that though he is not Armenian, he has worked with a "massive number" of Armenian community members – hundreds of those who are involved.
"She is leveraging history to make her very opinionated point, a biased point on gender ideology. She is using the Armenian genocide to justify radicalizing students with their gender identity and destabilizing these students' identities."
Henry said that as a taxpayer in the community he does not feel comfortable sending his kids to public schools within the district.
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Fox News Thomas Phippen contributed to this report.
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