The ‘1 Million March 4 Children’, a nationwide rally against Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculums in schools, and a counter protest against it, will be taking place at 12:00pm on Wednesday, September 20th
The ‘1 Million March 4 Children’, a nationwide rally against Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculums in schools, will be taking place at 12:00pm on Wednesday, September 20th at Shipyards Park. Attendees will march to the Legislative Assembly Building from Shipyards Park along 2nd avenue sidewalks. A counter-protest against the ‘Million March’ has been arranged, and will be waiting for it to arrive outside the Legislative Assembly.
Both The City, and the Yukon Employee’s Union have issued statements condemning the march ahead of the event.
In a statement posted to their official website, The City of Whitehorse said in part: “While the City supports people’s right to organize and protest, we stand by our 2SLGBTQIA+ community members and their right to live their true selves safely and free of harassment and hate. The promotion of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ ideas has no place in our community and messages that target fellow community members will not be tolerated.”
In a strongly worded letter, the Yukon Employee’s Union compared the demands of the ‘1 Million March 4 Children’ to the anti-desegregation movement in the United States during the 1960s, by invoking the story of Ruby Bridges, the first African American child to attend the formerly whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana. The Yukon Employee’s Union firmly endorsed the counterprotest and actively encouraged their members and supporters to join it.
The City of Whitehorse has announced that they will be deploying Bylaw Officers to the area during the march, and they have notified the Whitehorse RCMP about the planned march and counter-protest.
The Whitehorse RCMP declined an interview on their plans to police the rallies, instead issuing a statement clarifying that their role during any demonstration or assembly is to preserve the peace, protect life and property, and to uphold the law. The RCMP added that their officers always act with respect for the lawful exercise of a persons rights and freedoms, and that arrests are only made as a last resort.
