After anti-gay protesters descended on a South Los Angeles high school that recently touted its gender-neutral bathrooms, a rally in support of LGBTQ students was scheduled for Wednesday.
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The protesters promised to return Wednesday for more.
In response, school police have stepped up patrols.
Police said some students began throwing objects at the protesters and then a fight occurred.
In a statement Wednesday, Martin Gomez says he is proud of his students at Santee Education Complex for successfully campaigning to install the bathroom.
The U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a Virginia teenager last October stating schools can’t prevent transgender students from using the restrooms that correspond with their gender identities without violating federal law.
Lining the sidewalk across the street from the school’s campus, protestors held a large banner sign that said “Homo Sex Is Sin”, while shouting provocative jeers with a bullhorn directed towards the students who had been just dismissed from their day at school.
Students tussled with adults hoisting signs and chanting slogans outside the school Tuesday.
The school was working to avoid further altercations and planned to have extra police officers on campus, he said. “It’s just a bathroom”.
Students with the Santee High School Gay-Straight Alliance are the advocacy force behind the gender-neutral facility.
“There were people saying just let them be who they want to be”, explained student Jose Robles to NBC.
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A spokeswoman for the partnership on Wednesday told KTLA that, despite reports to the contrary, no one was arrested in Tuesday’s protest and fight.
