A Glendale school district meeting turned out violent on Tuesday (local time) as separate groups brawled with each other as administrators discussed recognizing Pride Month and gender and sexual identity studies, news agencies reported.
The school administrators said that several demonstrators among the groups of demonstrators did not have students in the district, CBS News said in a report.
The demonstrations outside the Glendale Unified School District building were relatively civil throughout the day but scuffle broke out between 200 protesters and counter-protesters after 6pm. Glendale Unified School District is a school district based in Glendale, California and it caters to several communities in Glendale, Montrose and La Crescenta.
Glendale’s police department deployed at least four dozen offices to prevent scuffles among the groups. The protesters were told to disperse and threatened to use less-than-lethal force to break up the crowd.
Later, three people were arrested as they were accused of using pepper spray and obstruction.
The situation was already tense as administrators, parents and teachers debated LGBTQ+ issues during public comment.
CBS News in its report said that gender and sexual identity curriculum were not on the agenda for the meeting and the only topic related to the LGBTQ+ community on the agenda was a declaration of support for Pride Month.
The report pointed out that the district has passed the declaration for the last five years in a row.
The school district released a statement and said that it aims to provide a “safe, inclusive environment where every child can learn and thrive”. “Let’s continue to work together, commit to having difficult conversations, ask questions, and maintain a civil discourse for the benefit of all students,” the statement said. The battle over whether to discuss LGBTQIA+ issues in schools has been an ongoing debate in the US as several immigrant communities as well conservative and right-leaning groups have demanded that school boards limit discussions related to sexual orientation.
Similar protests erupted outside a North Hollywood elementary school last week and few scuffles were also reported but those were not similar to what was reported on Tuesday afternoon.
June is celebrated as Pride Month across many countries in the world and the US.
