THUNDER BAY — For the second time in recent weeks, a group opposing sexual orientation and gender identity in schools was met with a counter-protest standing up for the LGBTQ+ and gender diverse community.
About two dozen people were present, with multiple participants declining interview requests. Some suggested that the signs they were holding were self-explanatory and spoke to the purpose of the event. A counter-protest organized by Thunder Pride, the Rainbow Collective of Thunder Bay, and the Loud Women Collective branded as “No Space 4 Hate” drew a crowd of supporters that more than doubled the other demonstrators.
“I suspect we have more in common with the parents who are protesting against, effectively, sex education in school, than they realize and perhaps we realize. I don’t know,” Vaugeois said. “I hope things are not so far gone that we cannot talk to each other and try to dispel the misinformation that’s there.”
“We’re going to continue to use our voice, that we’re not going back into the closet when folks on the other side want us to disappear. They don’t believe trans people exist. They believe there’s indoctrination in schools, which is patently false,” he said.