Editor:
In your column in last week’s paper (“Two-gender-only signs cause a stir”), you imply that the people who gathered outside Elphinstone Secondary on Wednesday, Feb. 24 somehow curtailed somebody’s right to speak – or wave a sign – freely in public. I don’t think this is the case at all. The people who gathered outside the high school came out not to silence anyone but rather to voice the message that everyone has a right to express their gender as they wish. Moreover, you miss the broader point, which is that the sign-wavers’ message was clearly directed toward the high school. Transgender or questioning teens – who are already in a vulnerable position in society – might well feel individually targeted by this mean-spirited message. With this in mind, the people who gathered outside the school to demonstrate their love and acceptance deserve our respect – and they set an example worth following.
Matt Cavers, Gibsons
