'Add The Words' rally planned in Cd'A

COEUR d'ALENE - Parents, friends and family members of lesbians And gays are holding an "Add The Words" rally on Saturday to correspond with a similar rally in Boise.

The event will also be a memorial service for Leelah Alcorn, 17, a transgender teen who recently committed suicide in Cincinnati when her parents refused to accept her wanting to live as a female.

PFLAG Coeur d'Alene will start the rally at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday in the parking lot of the Human Rights Education Institute at 414 W. Mullan Ave.

"It's been a decade and Idaho legislators continue refusing to grant a hearing for (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally) community members to tell their stories about what it is like to live in Idaho," PFLAG said in a press release. "In all but 10 cities it is legal in Idaho to fire someone, refuse them housing and public services if they are gay or transgender."

The LGBTA community in Boise will also meet on the steps of the State Capitol Building and several hundred are expected to attend.

"Here in Coeur d'Alene we need to show our local lawmakers that this concerns us as well," PFLAG wrote in the release. "We have too many young people take their lives because of bullying and discrimination. It's time to make Idaho safe for all of her citizens."

For more information: (208) 907-1078, or email [email protected].