A “Back to School Pride Night” in Utah had a host of angels to protect the crowd from homophobic and transphobic rhetoric Saturday night. A dozen fellow Brigham Young University students donned the costumes and wings, constructed with PVC piping and white sheets, to ward off a rally of 100 people opposing the LGBTQ attendees gathering at Kiwanis Park in Provo due to the school’s restrictive codes against non-heteronormative expression. The Pride night featured a drag show, which protesting students and conservative groups claimed was “sexualizing children,” reported The Salt Lake Tribune, but the angels’ extended wings blocked a number of the protestors from engaging with the congregation. Students at BYU, which is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aren’t allowed to have same-sex romantic partnerships, engage in displays of affection, or even have clubs that meet on campus.
