This week, a protest and a town hall meeting were organized by Moms for Liberty, an extremist anti-LGBTQ+ group who earned notoriety earlier this year by quoting Adolf Hitler in their campaign literature. The headliners of the protest and town hall were three ambulance chasers who traveled from Canada, Florida, and Carroll County. Three out-of-county provocateurs came to Montgomery County to drum up hatred by railing against the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in books approved by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), wishing to bring back an “opt out” policy that would allow parents to shield their children from books with content to which they personally object. However, MCPS never had such a policy for depictions of LGTBQ+ people.

In the wake of these events, the Montgomery County Young Democrats would like to voice our strong support for the LGBTQ+ community in Montgomery County and for MCPS for fostering an inclusive environment. The LGBTQ+ community, despite the best efforts of groups like Moms for Liberty, exists. Groups like Moms for Liberty know that allowing students to opt out of learning about the existence of the LGBTQ+ community sends a message that the community is abnormal and deserves to be ostracized. The strategy is obvious, and MCYD will stand with our LGBTQ+ neighbors and fight these tactics every step of the way.

MCYD stands by MCPS, and all of our county’s wonderful teachers, for fostering a history and literature curriculum that properly reflects the rich diversity of our community. We also want to thank all of the counter protestors who showed up in support of our LGBTQ+ neighbors at both events this week. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to spread messages of love and equality.