WATCH: About 140 people attend Edmonton rally supporting Alberta gov’s gender identity bills

Around 140 people gathered for a rally on the Alberta Legislature Grounds in Edmonton to show support for the government’s gender identity bills. Rally organizer Jojo Ruba said rally attendees were “not here because we’re against the trans community or the (sexual minority) community.” “In fact, we’re here because we believe common sense Albertans of any stripe, of any background, understand that parents and kids are better together,” said Ruba at the Saturday event. “That’s the main message.”.The rally involved people gathering on the Alberta Legislature Grounds, but a few went on the front steps to deliver speeches. Rally attendees carried Albertan flags and held signs with messages such as “Stop medical transitions for minors” and “Thank you Danielle Smith.” Rally organizer Benita Pedersen warmed up the rally with a chant, with she saying “parents and kids are” and the crowd saying “better together.” A table had been set up with petitions to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta about requiring schools to disclose what they teach children and flyers about getting involved in school board elections. Ruba said he helped to organize the rally because some MLAs told him the only time they hear from conservatives is when they are angry. In response, he said it will help to show what the Alberta government is doing is right. With the three gender identity bills the Alberta government has introduced, he said they are the first of their kind in Canada addressing issues about gender and gender identity in children. He spoke about a person he knows who socially transitioned as a 13 year old without her parents’ knowledge and led to her attempting suicide. .The three bills the Alberta government vowed to introduce about gender identity came out on October 31..UPDATED: Alberta government introduces three bills with gender identity policies .The Alberta government tabled a bill to restrict gender transitions in minors to what it says would preserve choices for them. Since the Alberta government wants to build a healthcare system responding to the changing needs of Albertans, it said the amendments introduced in the Health Statutes Amendment Act reflect this. .Rally attendee Faith Groleau said she was transitioned as a minor, but she has since detransitioned. “I was 15, 16, and 17 as the process started,” said Groleau. “I am in support of the legislation they’re trying to bring forward.” Ideally, Groleau said the three bills “help protect children from being transitioned incorrectly and having this pushed on them in schools, in sports, and in healthcare.” If similar bills had been implemented in Ontario where she is from, she predicted she would not have been transitioned, as the doctors would have been forced to do proper assessments unlike what happened with her. Rally attendee Blaine Badiuk said these bills are about common sense. “It’s about enshrining the right for kids to be protected from irreversible medical decisions before they’re too young, the right of parents to be involved in their child’s education, and the right for everyone to have fair, safe, accessible sport,” said Badiuk. “It’s really about ensuring all those three pieces.” When people look at the international evidence supporting gender transitions in minors, Badiuk said there is a lack of it that raises questions. She said minors cannot consent to irreversible medical decisions. Around 125 people gathered for the One Million March for Children on the grass area at the southeast corner of the 111 Ave. NW and 142 St. NW intersection near the Alberta Teachers’ Association in Edmonton to demonstrate for parental rights in September. .WATCH: About 125 people attend One Million March for Children in Edmonton .“I’ve had parents coming to me expressing concern about what their children are being exposed to,” said Pedersen. “And what’s most appalling is some of this material is in our schools.”

WATCH: About 140 people attend Edmonton rally supporting Alberta gov’s gender identity bills

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