Friend—On Tuesday, the Glendale Unified School District unanimously voted to recognize June as pride month.

This wouldn’t be an uncommon occurrence—they’ve done this for the past four years. What was different this time was the anti-LGBTQ+ protestors, including the Proud Boys and other hate groups, stirring up violence outside the school walls.

I was on the inside, supporting the majority of parents who attended the meeting to speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ hate.

“As an actual parent, I felt that I had to be here because a lot of the opposing people don’t believe that I exist,” said one parent of a queer middle school student.

Hate has no place here.

While the violence escalated outside, the police told us to stay inside the building. We later left the building with an escort and departed safely. But Proud Boys continued to march through Glendale.

I’m so proud of my community for standing up to hate today: the brave parents who spoke up at the school board meeting, and the board members who didn’t let the intimidation get to them.

The only folks we don’t tolerate are intolerant people.

But it’s scary that the backlash to our basic human rights is becoming so visible, so physical, even in communities we generally consider progressive like Los Angeles.

I also thank my Congressman Adam Schiff, who represents Glendale, for speaking out against the violence against our LGBTQ+ community.

As we near the end of Q2, I’m going to ask for your continued support in funding this campaign. We need to make sure every voter in CA-30 hears our message of love, and votes accordingly—since we don’t take any corporate PAC or special interest money, we need your help.

Can you help us celebrate pride month, and protect LGBTQIA+ rights and people, with a donation to the campaign this June?

I was once a queer youth. I remember how ostracized and discriminated against I felt in a school environment, since most people at the time were not in support of LGBTQIA+ people.

I don’t want any person to experience that ever again.

So, to transphobes and hate groups, I say this: leave queer kids alone.

In solidarity,

Maebe Pudlo

About our June 30th fundraising deadline:

Every quarter a political campaign has to release its fundraising numbers, and June 30th is our upcoming end-of-quarter deadline. Current officeholders and advocacy groups look at quarterly fundraising when choosing who to endorse, using money as an indicator of “viability.” In a perfect world we’d have publicly funded elections, but right now a grassroots campaign like ours needs to raise at least $150,000 this quarter to show our strength, get key endorsements, and win. We don’t take any corporate PAC or special interest money, but with your grassroots support, this goal is within reach. Please contribute to Maebe’s campaign before June 30th so we can show the power of bottom-up organizing!