Hundreds of Montgomery County, Maryland, residents turned out for a rally Tuesday protesting the county school system’s LGBTQ policies.

Parents with teens and tykes in tow chanted “education over indoctrination,” “we shall never surrender our children,” and most passionately, “leave our kids alone,” as they gathered to oppose Montgomery County Public Schools’ removal of its opt-out option for elementary reading materials that cover gay and transgender topics.

“We don’t hate anybody — we just want our rights,” said one of the speakers.

A large majority of those attending the rally were county residents of East African descent. Word of the rally spread through local Ethiopian Orthodox churches as well as social media.

“This is maybe 10% of the people who are coming here today,” a man who went by Desta, a priest at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of St. Michael in Northeast D.C., told The Washington Times “We’re not going to stop. This is a serious issue.”

More than 400 people were at the rally when he spoke with The Times.

Parents, accompanied by their children, held up signs that read “It is my right to keep my child safe” while they waved American flags.

The rally is in opposition to MCPS revoking parents’ ability to withhold their elementary-aged children from lesson plans that include LGBTQ-themed books recently added to the curriculum.

The school system’s new policy will take effect during the 2023-24 academic year.

Desta, a county resident, told The Times that he learned about the policy change from his teenage children.

He said he would pull his 7-year-old child out of the class with LGBTQ materials after his teenagers told him what was in the books.

MCPS has stated that the policy falls under the county’s literacy curriculum. State law only permits parents to withhold their children from classes that teach human growth and sexuality.

The policy is the subject of a lawsuit by a group of Muslim and Christian parents.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.