Pete Cahall, the principal of Washington D.C.'s Wilson High School, came out as gay to his students at a Pride event on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports:
Wilson High School Principal Pete Cahall came out to his students as gay at a school-wide Pride Day event Wednesday, shaking as he said that he had “hid in the shadows for the last 50 years” but was inspired by his students to declare his sexual orientation openly. “I want to say publicly for the first time because of your leadership, care and support that I am a proud gay man who just happens to be the principal of Wilson High School,” he said in the packed atrium at the D.C. school, flanked by Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and David Catania (I), the D.C. Council’s first openly gay member.
Students cheered and hugged Cahall after the announcement. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and David Catania (I), the D.C. Council’s first openly gay member were there for the announcement.
The Westboro Baptist Church last week announced plans to picket the school on June 9 because of its support for LGBT Pride and marriage equality, the WaPo reported on May 27:
The announcement triggered an immediate reaction from students, who took to social media to begin organizing a peaceful counterprotest. Rovinsky said that it’s been heartening to see her school come together in support of a common cause.
“The fact that Westboro has targeted a high school where many kids struggle with understanding their sexuality and may take these crazy extremist comments to heart seems outrageous to me,” she wrote in an e-mail. “However, I do know that as a school community, we will stand up for all of our students ... Westboro has decided to go against the wrong school and the wrong city this time.”
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