It seems that the National Straight Pride Coalition intended to march, regardless of permits and laws. That being the case, we needed to prepare.

MoPride let us borrow their space to hold protest training. A specialist in protests held two training sessions in which we discussed and learned about ways to protest effectively, legally, and safely. There was never going to be a way to make everyone happy, so we had to come to a consensus on our strategies and methods. There were obviously those that wanted to go in with sticks and goggles, but that is giving them the optics they are looking for, painting us as a bunch of violent aggressors. We don’t want to give them that, nor do we want to give the police excuses to come in after us. We can do this while maintaining the high road. At the end of the day, safety is of paramount importance, so we built our strategy on that.

I am proud of the volunteers that came forward and donations we received. Through those, we were able to build the teams, infrastructure, and support necessary for the event. We put together an experienced medical crew, and obtained supplies to address any field injuries. We organized a team of marshals to help with crowd control and communications. We had a donor supply radios, so we could instantly relay concerns to the proper teams. I acted as the police liaison, so we could keep things from escalating and minimize the police presence. People gave water, food, signs, and their time to make this happen. When the burden of it was about to break me, Zola stepped up to keep me sane. She coordinated our Marshals, as Maria stepped up to coordinate the Medics. Andrew of The Shire gave us space to make signage. I made badges, so people could quickly identify team members, and to identify those that wanted to act as perimeter to protect and those that want safety behind the perimeter. Everything was coming together.