Texas High School Students Subjected to Anti-LGBTQ+ Anti-Abortion Protest

As students were leaving McCallum High School, a part of the Austin Independent School District in Texas, on Tuesday, they were confronted with controversial messages as they were heading out of the building against LGBTQ+ rights and abortion.

According to reports from Austin NBC affiliate KXAN, fewer than a dozen people attended holding signs to voice their opposition to bodily autonomy and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people.

“The protesters were on the sidewalk but were blocking the buses, so they were asked to move,” a spokesperson for AISD said. “Austin ISD Police officers were on-site to ensure everyone’s safety, and the protesters left after about an hour.”

Austin City Council member Alison Alter helped launch the “We All Belong” anti-hate campaign after a hate crime against her synagogue in 2021. It was set ablaze in an arson attack. Alter criticized the protest at the public school.

“We need to be standing up and saying that everyone belongs, and this is a community for everyone,” she said. Alter brought attention to reporting hate crimes.

“Not every hate crime or hate incident is the same, but people do need to report,” she told the outlet. “Take action in the form of having those hard community conversations or creating a space where people can come together and celebrate.”

Alter added, “Fight hate with love, fight hate with light.”

The school has announced that, as a result of Tuesday’s incident, counselors will be available to support students who are feeling distressed due to the protest.

Students across the country have either returned to school or will be returning soon, and many of them will find differences in their educational landscape this year due to Republican-controlled states restricting access to information and limiting discussions of topics related to LGBTQ+ experiences and race.

This includes Texas.