VANCOUVER—Protesters and counter-protesters gathered outside the BC Teachers’ Federation headquarters Monday morning, reacting passionately to the province’s LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum on sexual orientation and gender identity, SOGI.

The anti-SOGI rally, called that SOGI 123 Sit Out, was organized by the conservative group Culture Guard, which describes itself as protecting “the natural family, parental rights, the sanctity of life.” It drew roughly 150 people against what the group called “extreme sex ed.”

In response, B.C. Families for Inclusivity organized the counter-demonstration, drawing a similar-sized crowd.

At the morning rally, Vancouver parent Angelina Ireland said the province’s SOGI curriculum tramples on her rights as a parent to decide whether her kids learn about sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Parental rights are being eroded,” she told StarMetro in an interview. “The Ministry of Education goes behind parents’ back and does not ask for permission … before they start discussing very mature subjects” such as SOGI.

On the other side of the street, Glen Hansman, president of the BCTF, came out of his office and joined the counter-rally, protecting LGBTQ rights.

Hansman told StarMetro the argument of parental rights as ground for opposition to SOGI doesn’t hold water. In 2002, when the Surrey School Board lost its legal battle to ban books depicting LGBTQ families, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the public education system has a right to teach tolerance and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum. Read more via The Star Vancouver