He identified himself as 48, gay and married.

“There is hope,” Merschiltz told the group, which numbered about 20, in Heritage Plaza, prior to the march over the 17th Street Bridge, then back over the tracks via the pedestrian bridge near the Post Office. “You will find love and acceptance.”

At an event that both implicitly and explicitly was intended to counter the Trump administration’s attitude toward sexual matters and hostility toward the trans community, one of the themes was the need for encouragement.

“If I didn’t stand up for you,” Merschlitz said, citing what he considers

Rylee Bush, 17, Jenifer Deblois and Typhani Russo (from left), all of Altoona, attend the Altoona Pride Rally at Heritage Plaza on Friday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“b——t from the administration,” “who is going to stand up for me?”

“Love is love,” Merschiltz added.

Organizer Astro — a trans individual whose given name is Matthew Nause — showed the group a poster with pictures of several LGBTQ people who have died by suicide or murder.

He read the suicide note from one them, a 61-year-old veteran who repudiated their right to a military funeral — while rejecting the nation they had served.

“This is not a country being made great again,” Astro read. “You cannot erase non-binary and transgender people: you give birth to us every single day.”

Altoona Pride Rally organizer Astro speaks about deaths in the LGBTQ community around the country at the rally in Heritage Plaza on Friday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

A speaker named Alex read a poem that included the lines “Anger in my bones/fire in my skin.”

Trans man Elijah King and Tim Baker of Altoona attended the rally as a couple.

King has experienced harassment at school and work, as well as “weird looks” when he uses the men’s room.

Being a resilient type, he’s not much afraid about the situation, he said.

And he ignores the weird looks.

Baker worries, though, because “any time (we’re) in public, you never know if there will be a confrontation,” he said. “Because we’re here — existing.”

He also worries that in the current political climate that King could lose access to testosterone via insurance or supply issues.

King transitioned because he “felt more comfortable” as a male.

His mother encouraged him to take the hormones that made it happen, he said.

King is statistically fortunate in the support of his mother and Baker, as the numbers show that having close family and friends greatly reduces the suicide risk for transgender people, Baker said.

While the administration may have unleashed overt hostility against transgender people, the actual level of problematic behavior may not be any different than it is under Democratic leadership, according to Baker.

Those problems just get less attention then because “the perception is there is a good guy in office,” he said.

“Things are not always sunshine and rainbows just because a Democrat is in,” he added.

King then expressed his contempt for both parties.

A rallygoer from Altoona came to the event in a shirt that stated, “It’s queer time.”

Normally, she hesitates to express her identity so openly, because it “generates looks of derision,” she said.

“It doesn’t feel safe fully presenting myself as a queer person,” she said. “I don’t feel fully welcome.”

She’s fortunate not to have been the target of violence or “hurtful language directly” here in Altoona, however, she said.

Three individuals who walked together at the march were trying to counter the impression that the community at large was unwelcoming.

None of them are LGBTQ.

Jenifer Deblois of Altoona was “being an ally” for her non-binary daughter, who was not at the event.

She’s concerned with the current environment.

“I’m afraid their rights are being taken away,” Deblois said.

She’s also concerned that the increased acceptance of LGBTQ individuals in recent times is being reversed.

Rylee Bush, 17, of Altoona, came to the event because “I just needed to use my voice.”

“A lot of not-OK things are happening,” Rylee said. “It’s not fair to treat people (badly) because they disagree.”

Rylee routinely stands up for others thanks to the influence of her dance teacher, she said.

That teacher was the third person of the group, Typhani Russo.

“We need to be an advocate for others,” Russo said.

She campaigns against “hate” in response to having been bullied herself throughout elementary, junior high school, high school, college and even into work.

Russo figures that happened due to her success in activities and not belonging to a single clique, which led people to regard her as a “goody two-shoes.” They were jealous, she said. Even though “I was just being me,” she added.

As a teacher, Russo has seen students being victimized worse than she was, she said.

A small contingent of Altoona police officers posted themselves at the plaza during the rally, then followed the marchers along their route in a vehicle to provide security.

“There were no issues whatsoever,” said Sgt. Patrick Tomassetti, as the event started wrapping up.

A few people expressed their support during the march, but there was no heckling, Deblois said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.