ITV News – LGBT Schools Row – The Human Impact

ITV’s Balvinder Sidhu interviews Matt about what tragically happened to Naz five years ago.

And now, years later, the same homophobic attitudes that Naz experienced have spilled out on to the streets around Anderton Park Primary School, Birmingham – not far from where Naz grew up. Grown adults have been protesting outside primary schools because of four children’s books. The protests started outside of Parkfield Community School.

These books contain storylines that include age-appropriate material allowing children to become aware that not all families consist of a mom and dad. Some families have two moms, some may have two dads.

The damage being caused by these protests is very real. If not stopped, the hostile, deeply homophobic, anti-LGBT rhetoric is going to lead to anxiety, depression and long term mental health issues within LGBT+ people. Or worse.

We must not lose another young person like my Naz because their parents, or the local community, refuse to accept someone who is born different from them.

ITV News interview broadcast 25/07/2019.