This is a repost of an article published on wehoonline.com on April 7, 2024

Being able to take your kids to the park without looking over your shoulder is something gay dads are accustomed to in West Hollywood.

But four years ago, it almost got Darryl Sher arrested.

Sher is one of the organizers of the LGBT Parents Group, a loose association of queer parents that meets every once in a while to catch up and let their kids play together.

They’ve been getting together at The Abbey in 2020, when the pandemic robbed local parents of the public play spots they’d come to rely on.

It all began four years ago in March, when suddenly the playground at Plummer Park was closed due to the city’s COVID restrictions. Sher and his fellow dads made due with picnics on the lawn. Then a week later, the park itself was closed.

Left without options to entertain their young kids, the group continued their picnics in defiance of the closures. 

“Park security weren’t happy with us,” said. “When we told them kids don’t get COVID after they asked us to leave, they got frustrated and walked away, came back, and said there’s two wagons on their way to arrest us all.”

A law enforcement officer showed up. Instead of arresting them, he gave them masks and told them they had to wear them while on the sidewalk and on public property.

The group then moved their weekly Saturday picnics to Sher’s condo courtyard on Palm Ave. But his home owners’ association caught wind of it after a few weeks and started issuing warnings about the number of children in the pool. As the pandemic worsened, the HOA removed all the pool furniture.

The group then took the gatherings to a friend’s private back yard and pool in the Hollywood Hills. A neighbor called the police almost immediately, and police arrived to find about 10 kids playing in the pool. This continued for five weeks. The police even threatened to have the home’s electricity shut off.

“Nearly a year went by and I reflected,” Sher said. “I felt like giving up on organizing weekly events. Cops constantly on our tail, neighbors who don’t respect small gatherings, never-ending encounters and my HOA threatening to write fines for violating pool rules which I never violated. It consumed all my energy. I contemplated on leaving L.A.”

After sleeping on it, Sher decided to try once more. He called The Abbey and met with the manager about having weekly Saturday gatherings for gay parents and our families. 

“A few days later, I got a call that we were welcomed with open arms, but under one restriction: 6-person limit per table per state law,” Sher said. “It sucked, but we had to respect the law.”

The six-person limit was rescinded when restrictions were eased in April 2021, and the group has been growing ever since. More than 50 active LGBT families attend the group’s monthly events like the gathering they held at The Abbey this past weekend.

Screenwriter Quentin Lee has attended the gatherings, and actor Ben Savage and his wife came joined them on one occasion as well.

“We are an inclusive group and organization where all gay parents and allies are welcome to attend,” Sher said.