Metro Weekly

Casper, Wyoming officials will do nothing about “Gay = Death” grafitti

”We don’t have an ordinance that prohibits you from having graffiti. If you get caught painting, that’s one thing, but it doesn’t preclude you from putting up your own message…. It’s freedom of speech. What is vulgar to one person is not to the other person.”

Shelley LeClere, the “code enforcement supervisor” of Casper, WY, telling the Casper Star Tribune about their decision to do nothing about Chris Trumbull, a resident of North Casper. Trumbull has apparently painted the words “Leviticus 20:13, To Be Gay = Death” on his own fence. The article states that city officials asked Trumbull to remove the offensive message, but he refused, and says now, “I put it up because society is not looking at the truth.” Trumbull’s residence is near a public high school. And as a side note, Casper, WY is the birthplace of murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard, and serves as the base for the Matthew Shepard Foundation. (Casper Star Tribune)

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