Church protests high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance

On Thursday morning, members from the Westboro Baptist Church convened at Grant High School to protest its Gay-Straight Alliance. However, the protesters were overwhelmed by the response of an estimated 200 counter-protesters that carried completely unrelated signs designed to draw attention away from the subject.

In a letter addressed to Portland Police Chief Rozie Sizer and three commanders of the Portland Police Department, the Westboro Baptist Church’s attorneys advised that it would be in the WBC’s jurisdiction to stage “public demonstrations regarding the dangers of promoting homosexuality.”
 
In addition, the letter requested that law enforcement “place a reasonable ‘dead zone’ between the groups to deter attacks against [WBC] members.”

Attached to the letter was a press release, headlined, “WBC will picket these fag-infested, pervert-run, Oregon and Washington High Schools [sic].” Portland’s Grant High School, among other schools, was listed as the site for Thursday’s demonstration.

Kelly Welch, a 25-year-old Portland State graduate who is now a student of the PSU Graduate School of Education, felt that the most effective way to combat the protest was to not to give the WBC any attention.

“However, we’re Portlanders. We are not quiet people,” she said.

Welch therefore organized a counter-protest via Facebook.

According to Welch, the WBC’s goal is to destroy gay-straight alliances. In order to curb this, Welch and the other counter-protestors raised $144.19 during the protest.

Welch said she is in communication with Grant High School’s GSA adviser to figure out the logistics of how to donate the money to the GSA. She expects the money to be released to the GSA by next week.

Welch is also asking the GSA to help “kill the WBC with kindness” by sending the WBC a thank-you card for their help with fundraising.

She and PSU student Badger Vance, who also worked on the counter-protest, originally designed the card to give to Pastor Phelps of the WBC, who did not attend the protest, according to Welch.

Vance planned to respond to the protest with humorous slogans on signs, such as “I can’t find my keys” and “More hot pockets,” rather than add fuel to the WBC’s cause.

Other groups came to the counter-protest with signs that read, “Is this where the spaceship is landing?” and “This is boob.”

PCC student Josh Olsen, a counter-protester who held a Pacman game sign, brought it with the idea that a sign about something silly would satirize the WBC.

On Thursday morning, counter-protesters had already arrived at the scene when the WBC showed up 30 minutes before their announced arrival time, according to Welch.

After a few minutes, the protesters left and the crowd cheered, although counter-protesters stayed for an hour or more before dispersing, Welch said.

“It makes me really proud to live in Portland when I see the community rally like this with such love and understanding,” she said. ??

Metropolitan Learning Center student Aaron Schroeder, 16, saw about seven people protesting against the GSA at Grant High School at around 7 a.m. In the meantime, counter-protesters covered the sidewalks and street corners, he said.

Aaron’s 13-year-old brother Zachary was also present. The teenagers’ father called the MLC to let them know that the students would be protesting, Aaron said.

Dustin McSherry, 21, graduated from Grant High School in 2007 and was a member of its GSA. He said that the protest is personal to him because the Grant High School area is where he grew up.

According to McSherry, the GSA is a safe place for students of all sexualities to express their voices. After researching the WBC, he said he could not stay away from the protest.

McSherry thought the signs he and other counter-protesters carried were positive and drew attention away from the focus of the protesters.

 The spokesperson for the Portland Public School District, Matt Shelby, arrived at the school at 7:30 a.m. on the day of the protest to find the front lawn roped off as planned. In addition, the Grant High School Choir was singing on the steps of the school, he said. 

 “The WBC folks were already gone [by then],” Shelby said.

Though students were originally encouraged to come in through the school’s rear entrance, Grant High School’s administrators were allowing students to come in through the front entrance, according to Shelby.

A few of the school’s students snuck under the rope with signs, but were asked to demonstrate from the sidewalk, Shelby said.  Other curious high school students stood around watching.

Among the other counter-protesters, Shelby also said he saw clergy members from other churches and  a group of women in their late sixties.

 According to Shelby, everyone he saw was counter-protesting with signs and banners in a positive way, including students who respected the streets and gathered on the sidewalk.

Overall, Shelby believes the protest was a success, even though school started late. In addition, he said that students conducted themselves in a peaceful and productive manner.