A passenger waves a transgender pride flag from a school bus during a May 6, 2022, protest against the Linn-Mar school board’s passage of policies to protect transgender students from discrimination near Linn-Mar High School. The policy late was repealed. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
Marion police are investigating reports of harassment and threats made against an LBGTQ student group participating in Wednesday night’s Linn-Mar High School homecoming parade.
“We want residents and visitors to feel safe, secure and welcome in Marion,” the city said in a post on X. “The actions of a few do not speak for our community. This incident is under investigation, and anyone with information about the identities of those involved is asked to contact the Marion police.”
The Linn-Mar Community School District also weighed in on X, posting, “All students should feel safe, respected, and valued, and LM will not condone actions that threaten them.”
Jennifer Pitkin — who said she is the mother of 15-year-old Ava, a member of Spectrum, the LGBTQ club at Linn-Mar — posted about the incident on Facebook and created a GoFundMe page to support Spectrum. She said 15 “brave kids” from Spectrum marched in the parade.
“Not only did these CHILDREN hear slurs as they walked, one person threw an OPEN box cutter that nearly hit Ava, our sweet, carries bugs outside to save them, Ava,“ Pitkin posted.
”One small CHILD walked up to Ava and said, ‘Get your queer a– out of here.’ Another said, ‘My pronouns are U-S-A.’ Another yelled, ‘I’m a homophobe!’
“How DARE anyone teach or even think this hate can be spewed: My 15- year-old just experienced what, frankly, is a hate crime. She just wanted to support her friends and family in the community. She is destroyed.”
In an email to parents Thursday, the Linn-Mar school district said it was “saddened to learn that an otherwise spectacular Homecoming parade last evening was disrupted by a few individuals who elected to harass, ridicule, and throw objects at some of our students in the Linn-Mar Spectrum parade entry. This behavior is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our district.”
The district said it was reaching out to students in Spectrum to assure them of “our continued support, and are partnering with law enforcement on its investigation into these events. We are dedicated to ensuring that all students feel safe, respected, and valued, and will not condone actions that threaten them.”
Iowa Safe Schools, a nonprofit based in Des Moines that advocates for LGBTQ students, said it was “utterly disturbed” by the events.
“The hostile environment surrounding LGBTQ youth, fostered in-part by lawmakers at the Iowa State Capitol, has enabled these vile acts,” said a statement from Executive Director Becky Tayler. “It is reprehensible that this bullying behavior continues to trickle down into our communities. Iowa Safe Schools stands with Spectrum and LGBTQ students at Linn-Mar.”
Earlier this year, the Linn-Mar school board approved a $20,000 settlement with a group that sued the district over a 2022 policy that spelled out inclusive practices for transgender students, including giving students access to restrooms, locker rooms or changing areas that correspond with their gender identity.
The group of parents, calling itself Parents Defending Education, argued the policy allowed children to make fundamentally important decisions about gender identity without parental involvement and to hide those decisions in school from their parents.
The policy spawned protests from opponents after it was passed in 2022 and later became a campaign issue among some Republicans seeking the presidential nomination.
The board repealed the policy in March 2023 amid uncertainty about the issue in the Iowa Legislature. A law passed last year prohibits a school district from knowingly giving “false or misleading information to a parent or guardian of their child’s gender identity or intention to transition” to a different gender than listed on the student’s birth certificate.
The settlement was paid by the district’s insurance company.
