There is hope, even in California. Parents are not backing down from protesting over an elementary school’s celebration of gay and transgender pride. The atmosphere is getting heated outside of Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood.

Last week I wrote about a transgender flag burned at an elementary school in North Hollywood. It was a small flag displayed in a planter outside a classroom where a transgender teacher teaches. Governor Newsom lost his ever-lovin’ mind and went on a tear about purges and crusades and “woke” is a dog whistle, blah, blah, blah. Naturally, the far-right is the cause of everything bad happening. Without evidence, the little flag burning was lumped with everything the governor could think of to link to the far-right.

The parents at Saticoy Elementary School protested against a planned assembly at the school last Friday. A Pride Month event was the reading from “The Great Big Book of Families.’ The book is about diversity and “all kinds of families.” One father among the protesters is speaking out. The father of four is refusing to send his children back to school until he can speak with school officials. Manuk Grigoryan said he is “fed up.” He’s not alone.

Protesters and counter-protesters showed up outside the school the same day as the planned assembly. The assembly went forward.

“They’re too young. It wasn’t about the issue of the book itself only because after the book was supposed to be read, they were supposed to turn around and have a discussion about what they just read and heard,” Grigoryan said during “Fox & Friends” Monday.

“When we want to speak with them and have these discussions, they totally ignore us, and they just don’t want to talk to us, and I’m fed up, and the school is not safe for my children,” he continued.

“I’m not going to take my kids back until they come out and talk to us.”

In an interesting twist, the Associated Press reported that the protesters outnumbered the counter-protesters. Protesters wore t-shirts with text reading “No Pride in Grooming” an “Leave our kids alone.”

Gigoryan doesn’t want his 8-year-old twin daughters exposed to this kind of material in school without parental approval. He said school district officials refused to meet with the parents, though the school principal met with them.

“We found out about this assembly back in early May, and we have made numerous attempts to contact school officials and have a meeting with them,” Grigoryan said.

“We did have a meeting with the principal, but she couldn’t be helpful. So we asked to speak with [L.A. Schools Superintendent Alberto] Carvalho. We made numerous attempts to contact him, but he ignored every opportunity that we had to speak with him. He just didn’t want to acknowledge us, and we had no choice but to take it to the streets.”

The school district issued a statement.

“Los Angeles Unified remains committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for all students. We are also committed to ensuring diversity and inclusivity… In addition, out of an abundance of caution, the Los Angeles School Police Department will be providing additional patrols around the campus.”

Fights broke out between protesters and LGBTQ activist counter-protesters. LAPD officers broke up the fights.

Los Angeles schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho, on the job in L.A. since last year when he arrived from Miami-Dade County, Florida, is surprised about the protests. He spoke to an L.A. Times columnist about his thoughts

“What’s different with this is the rise in intensity, animosities and insults,” he told me, as we watched police officers line up on the school’s front lawn. “In times like this, we decided to take action in support of our children and our schools.”

Yet, that is exactly what the parents protesting the assembly are doing – trying to protect their children.

It is as though the school district didn’t learn anything from what happened in Virginia in 2021. Republican Glenn Youngkin embraced the issue of parental control in schools and it ushered him into the governor’s office in a huge upset election. Democrats controlled Virginia politics and it was just assumed that Terry McAuliffe would be elected. Virginia public school parents began a movement to oust woke policies, including LGBTQ activism, out of their schools. Virginia is no longer a blue state.

Other blue states should pay attention. Parents across the country are beginning to rise up and say enough is enough. Stop propagandizing young children. It’s a topic that is over their heads until they are older. Most parents want to be the ones to teach their children about sexual matters and gender issues, they don’t want schools to take over their jobs. Those that do not listen in this environment do so at their own peril.