Hundreds Oppose Anti-Gay Protest At D.C. School
WASHINGTON (WJZ) -- Days after a Washington, D.C. high school principal revealed he's gay, the Westboro Baptist Church protested in front of the school.
Mary Bubala reports students wouldn't let the fringe group take the spotlight.
With Wilson High School principal Pete Cahall leading the charge, hundreds of students and community members rallied around the school.
"We are accepting of LGTB students, we are accepting of our principal, we are coming together to be supportive and I think that's what Tiger Pride is," said one participant.
"I'm here to support my parents because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. I was adopted from Russia so they truly saved me," said one student.
In a much quieter and smaller demonstration, members of the Westboro Baptist Church held their own signs.
"Rather than celebrating your sexual perversion, you ought to be fleeing your fleshly lust that wars against your soul. That's what Jesus Christ told you to do," said a Westboro Baptist Church member.
It was last Wednesday, at the school's pride rally, that the principal announced he's gay and then explained why he decided to come forward.
"I just turned 50 a couple weeks ago and just kept saying, `I'm tired of hiding,'" he said.
More than 2,000 students and teachers took part in the counter-protest.
"Education breeds tolerance and hatemongers breed ignorance," said a participant.
"When I was in high school, we really didn't include the LGBT community but these students are insisting that we do that and I just couldn't be prouder," said a participant.
"I just couldn't imagine what happened today in my wildest dreams," said Cahall.
The rally lasted about an hour. Police escorted members of the Westboro Baptist Church from the area.
Four hundred members of the surrounding community also showed up at the students' event Monday outside the school.
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