A founder of the local chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and Touchstone Community Church pastor said the group’s efforts in Boerne – including the 5th annual Boerne Pride Walk last Saturday – are leading to positive change for local members of the LGBTQ community. But she said there’s still work to be done.
The parade, which is hosted by the local PFLAG chapter, Touchstone Community Church and Kaleidoscope Hearts, pulled in a crowd of about 350 supporters this year despite a reduction in marketing efforts. The event – which features a parade from the Patrick Heath Public Library to River Road and back – has seen wavering numbers of eventgoers over the years, having only kicked off in 2018 and facing a pandemic shortly after. However, last year’s event drew in a crowd of roughly 600, according to Kendall County Democratic Party Chair Laura Bray.
Kerry Kirtley, Touchstone Community Church pastor and co-founder of Boerne’s PFLAG, said drawing in local community support means much more for members of the LGBTQ community in town than seeing residents from surrounding cities flood the area.
“What we really appreciate about the Boerne Pride Walk and whatever comes from that in the future is it’s not necessarily about having 1,000 people from other cities,” Kirtley said. “It’s about seeing the growth in our own community of support and encouragement. And I’d rather have the 350, most of whom are from Boerne, saying, ‘We love you, and we’re glad you’re part of our community,’ then a thousand who just want to show up and then go somewhere else.”
Although this year still featured a sizeable crowd, matching the turnout of the first Pride Walk in 2018, it occurred despite a potential problem. Kirtley said her church and PFLAG didn’t market the event as heavily as previous years after a threat was made against supporters who showed up.
While it remains unclear what the exact threat was, Kirtley said the Boerne Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were called in to determine if the threat was viable, leaving event organizers cautious about pulling in a larger crowd until it was safe. Kirtley said there was sense of responsibility to notify the vendors attending the event, and one pulled out as a response.
“As with all large public gatherings that occur in our community, we worked with event organizers to make sure this year’s Pride Walk was a success with upward of 350 people participating,” a statement from BPD states. “There were zero security issues. Our department was made aware of vague threats made in the days leading up to the event. Working with our federal partners, we were able to quickly determine there was zero credibility.”
While Kirtley said the positive changes she’s seen in the community over the years – noting Boerne Independent School District as of 2020 now allows for Gay-Straight Alliance groups to be formed after years of pushback and the growing number of businesses who actively and passively support the movement each year – she said there is still progress to be made in the movement.
Kirtley mentioned the high suicide rate among young people in the LGBTQIA population, saying it’s because there’s bullying, “and bullying comes in many forms.”
“It’s just so powerful in their life,” she said. “So, it matters that people stand up repeatedly and over and over again say, ‘Please pay attention. Make sure your bullying rules really are antibullying for everybody.’”
A national survey conducted by the Trevor Project in 2021 showed 42 percent of LFBTQ youth had considered suicide in the past year. The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention supported these numbers, stating nearly one in three LGBTQ youth had attempted suicide.
Further, the federal agency identifies a 2015 study which showed 10 percent of these children were threated or injured with a weapon at school, 34 percent were bullied at school and 28 percent were bullied online.
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