On Friday, a typically quiet suburban Los Angeles street was lined with more than 100 protesters and counter-protesters.
The two groups were there for the same event—a Pride Month celebration at the neighborhood elementary school.
On Saticoy Elementary's programming, however, they held radically different opinions.
By calling the Pride event "indoctrination" and unfit for kids, one group of parents had called for a boycott of the school.
However, opponents of the demonstration and advocates for LGBT rights claimed that it was discriminatory and that kids should have the opportunity to learn about various family structures.
Local media reported that when a fight between protesters briefly broke out, police had to step in. One individual sustained minor wounds but chose not to seek medical attention. Whether there were any arrests is unknown.
On Friday, a Saticoy Elementary school employee who answered the phone said that the school had planned to read a book to students about some children having "two mommies and two daddies.".
The worker said nothing more about what happened.
The San Fernando Valley LGBTQ Center's director, Renato Lira, participated in the assembly at the school.
The event, which he said involved educators reading from a book that discussed families of different cultures, including families with same-sex parents, was well received by the kids, he told the BBC.
The purpose of the event, according to Mr. Lira, was to "show our love, respect, and unity.".
The protesting parents, he claimed, were "trying to bully us.".
Since the US Supreme Court made gay marriage legal in 2015, it has gained a lot of support, including from the majority of Republicans, according to polling firm Gallup.
The teaching of gender and sexuality in schools has, however, sparked a conservative-led backlash over the last few years.
The newest front in this culture war is Saticoy Elementary, which is situated in one of the most liberal states and one of the most liberal cities in the country.
Online planning took place over the past two weeks to boycott the school's Pride celebration on June 2.
Parents were urged to keep their kids home from school on that particular day by the @saticoyelementaryparents anonymous Instagram account.
Midway through May, @saticoyelementaryparents posted photographs, contact information, and email addresses for the school's staff members as well as other city education officials.
The Instagram account stated that "our protest is in no way an attack on the LGBTQ community" prior to Friday's rally.
Nevertheless, detractors claimed that some of the protesters' signs, such as "No sexual indoctrination!" and "The only people who want to teach kids sex: Pedophiles," were discriminatory.
Protesters against the Pride celebration claimed that it is inappropriate to teach children about LGBT issues and that schools should first get parental permission before bringing up such topics in the classroom.
One parent told the Los Angeles Times that she was sick of the "propaganda" and requested anonymity out of concern for her child's safety at the school.
She noted that her child had returned from school last week with rainbow-colored stickers and other items, adding, "I didn't come from Armenia for this.".
"I came not for this, but for freedom and for my children to learn about math and education. I might return home. ".
Counter-protesters waved Pride and transgender flags on the opposite side of the street.
One person yelled into a bullhorn, "Today, we're here to celebrate Pride!".
Hatred has no place here, read a woman holding a sign. ".
Other parents argued that discussing same-sex relationships with children simply reflected the reality of life in America today.
According to one parent, Erica Denesesn, "it's how the world is today and if you shield them from it, then it's just going to make a bigger impact later.".
According to the Los Angeles Times, a transgender teacher at Saticoy Elementary School reported on May 22 that a Pride flag in his office had been set on fire.
The incident happened after a different, pro-parents' rights, conservative Instagram account published what it claimed to be images of the teacher before and after transition.
Officer Tony Im told BBC News that the LAPD was looking into the burning of the flag as a hate crime.
Invoking an ongoing investigation, he declined to provide more details.
We took action because we knew the flag had been burned, Mr. Im said.
When the BBC enquired about the incident, the teacher and administrators at Saticoy Elementary School did not immediately respond.
The influential teachers' union in the city of Los Angeles, United Teachers Los Angeles, denounced "the egregious behavior of bigoted protestors that outed the gender identity of a teacher at Saticoy Elementary."
