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Queer students threatened with a box cutter for marching in high school homecoming parade

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Police in Marion, Iowa are investigating an assault on queer students marching in their high school's homecoming parade.

According to witnesses, a group of students shouted slurs at the kids as they marched behind a banner for the high school's gay-straight alliance (GSA).


The group began throwing objects at the queer students, including an open box cutter.

The mother of one of the students said she was proud of her daughter's decision to keep marching but feared for her safety.

I cannot fathom being a child going to homecoming and not feeling safe, Jennifer Pitkin told KCRG-9 News.

While the thrown box cutter didn't injure anyone, Pitkin she said it had an obvious message for the kids: stay home, and never go to a Pride parade again.

Anti-LGBTQ+ hostility runs high among the far-right in Iowa.

A federal court recently upheld an LGBTQ+ book ban for public schools in the state. Iowa, along with Florida, leads the country in the number of books removed from shelves containing LGBTQ+ content.