The National Organization for
Marriage's (NOM) so-called Free Speech Bus was chased out of
Philadelphia on Saturday.
The orange bus' message reads: “It's
Biology: Boys are boys … and always will be. Girls are girls …
and always will be. You can't change sex. Respect all.”
The bus is sponsored by NOM, the
International Organization for the Family (IOF), whose formation was
announced by NOM President Brian Brown in December, and a coalition
of global groups opposed to LGBT rights.
According to The
Philadelphia Inquirer, about 100 people gathered outside City
Hall for a Pop-Up Love Party organized by the city's Office of LGBT
Affairs and other groups.
Organizers said that they were there to
support the transgender community and were unaware of when the bus
would arrive in Philadelphia.
The bus arrived moments after the
speakers finished.
The bus was hit with eggs and at least
two smoke bombs were set off. Protesters chanting “Trans lives
matter” blocked the bus from moving forward. Police arrested at
least one person.
A police captain boarded the bus. “I
asked [the driver] if his intention was to leave. He said it was,”
the captain said.
The incident lasted about 15 minutes,
the paper reported.
In a previous interview with USA
Today, NOM President Brian Brown explained the bus' message.
“We don't want men in girl's
restrooms. We don't want schools and our law attempting to say that
people are bigoted simply because they understand that there's a
difference between male and female,” Brown said.