Members of the LGBT community and its supporers in Toronto, Canada, have embarked on a peaceful sit in protest to rid Toronto of its Mayor, Rob Ford.
by Newsdesk | 22nd Feb 2013
• The group call themselves Ford Must Go
• They are staging a sit in at the Toronto town hall
• Protestors are speaking against Rob Ford’s ‘homophobia, bigotry and hatred’
Rob Ford is the current Mayor of Toronto, in Canada, and has got LGBT rights campaigners angry because of his ‘homophobia, bigotry and hatred’.
A group of protestors have now sat in the Toronto town hall continuously for 10 days - and it say it plans to do so until Rob Ford resigns. The peaceful, mainly silent campaign sees campaigners holding up signs and ‘exerting a moral force.’
Writing on the official website, organiser of the sit in Chris Caple says:
‘Up until now, Ford has been primarily hurting himself. Yes, he's greatly damaged the reputation of this city; yes, he's drawn the office of the mayor into disgrace. Yes, he should have resigned many months ago.
‘But now? - now, with his open repudiation of the Pride parade and his repeated attempts to have the ceremonial Pride flag taken down at City Hall, he's shifted into a new, even more dangerous mode - one of actively, deliberately seeking to hurt others. In order to score cheap political points with the basest elements of his base of supporters.
‘By his comments and behaviour, Ford is harming the LGBT community in Toronto specifically and the greater city generally, emboldening bigots, and making this city meaner, smaller, colder, and less welcoming.’
LOWERING THE PRIDE FLAG
Ford is accused of requesting that the rainbow flag be removed, which was to be flown in solidarity for Russia’s gay community during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He say of the request:
‘This is about Olympics,
‘This is about being patriotic to your country, this is not about someone's sexual preference.
'And there's no reason I can see that we should be putting up the Pride flag during the Olympics,'
NOT A HOMOPHOBE
However Rob Ford has defended himself, taking to his YouTube to say that he is offended when he is called Homophobic.
However campaigners are pointing to another of gaffs that point towards a less understanding Major. Speaking about Pride parades the Rob Ford said:
‘Ive never gone to a Pride parade, so I'm not going to change the way I am.’
You can follow the group’s actions on their official Twitter
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