Anti-Trans Bus Rolls In, Transgender Flag Goes Up

Boston is responding to the arrival of the anti-transgender "Free Speech Bus" by raising a transgender flag at City Hall in an act of solidarity.

Mayor Martin Walsh had the flag raised around 1 p.m. after saying "we are always going to support our transgender community and defend their fundamental rights."

The "Free Speech Bus" rolled into town earlier in the morning. The bus has made its way through several states spreading its message of, well, pretty much what it says on the side of the bus: "It’s biology: Boys are boys...and always will be. Girls are girls...and always will be. You can’t change sex. Respect all."

There was a small group of protestors that greeted the bus as it arrived at the State House this morning, The Boston Globe reports.

"We will not be intimated by discrimination or harassment," Baker said in front of City Hall.

Kasey Suffredini and Mason Dunn, co-chairs of Freedom Massachusetts, issued the following response to the bus and its message:

"As members of the transgender community ourselves, it's downright frightening to see this bus invade our home community with lies attacking and undermining our basic humanity. This bus is the embodiment of the kind of harassment and discrimination that study after study documents our community combats on a daily basis. We are thankful to Boston Mayor Walsh for raising the transgender flag today on City Hall Plaza to remind us that Boston is a fair and welcoming city and to all the first responders who are keeping all of us safe during this toxic invasion of our city and state. We are grateful to everyone who has reached out to support us in this moment, and we urge our community - especially our vulnerable transgender youth - to remember that the overwhelming majority of Bostonians and Bay Staters see you and support you."

Harvard was preparing to receive the bus Thursday afternoon, where the bus will be greeted by a "Trans Lives Matter" banner. The College's Office of BGLTQ Student Life reaffirmed support to transgender students this week, The Crimson reports.

The bus is co-sponsored by conservative action groups the National Organization for Marriage, Citizen Go, and the International Organization for the Family. The bus has encountered resistance on much of its "East Coast Tour," and has been vandalized with "Trans Rights" being scrawled across its side.

In a press release on the launch of the bus tour, the National Organization for Marriage wrote, "The push by LGBT extremists to redefine gender is the logical fallout of their successful effort to redefine (in the law) marriage."

Photo from National Organization for Marriage