An LGBTQ-affirming church in Boston has been defaced with anti-gay graffiti, drawing condemnation from city leaders and members of the city’s LGBTQ community.
The First Baptist Church, located in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, was vandalized, with an unknown person writing the phrases “All F*****s Should Die” and “God Doesn’t Love You” sometime between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Thursday morning.
The anti-LGBTQ messages were spray-painted onto the base of the church’s steeple in red and pink paint. Some of the other phrases sprayed on the wall included “Your God is a fraud,” and an assertion that LGBTQ people “should die.”
“It’s obviously meant to be intimidating,” the church’s pastor, Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird said. “It’s meant to be intimidating and hateful.”
In the police report of the incident, first reported by the Boston Globe, an officer responded to a report of vandalism at the church at 8:22 a.m.
The city has since put up black tarps blocking the messages from public view.
Wiest-Laird said that the church has surveillance cameras, but none were pointed in the area of the vandalism or captured the perpetrator. Video footage from the boat office across the street might be helpful, she said.
“I’m still in angry mode,” Wiest-Laird said. “And I’m probably … hitting sad, I’m realizing. It makes me want to cry. I mean, anybody who, this is how you want to spend your time, to make a point of being hateful.”
The perpetrator left behind the cans of spray paint, which officials have taken into custody as evidence.
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden issued a statement Thursday morning condemning the hate speech.
“This dangerous, hurtful messaging is an instant reminder of the hatred within too many hearts in our city and cities across the nation,” he said. “We will do everything possible to protect members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Boston and Suffolk County.”
According to its website, the church was founded in 1842 as a part of the American Baptist and Alliance of Baptists congregation and seeks inclusion of, and leadership for and by, LGBTQ people.
This incident comes a week after the beginning of Pride Month, and two days before the return of Boston’s Pride Parade after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the 2022 parade following the dissolution of the Boston Pride organization in response to a boycott by Black and transgender community groups, according to Boston public radio station WBUR.
Following a massive outcry from community members and politicians, the National Park Service has canceled its plans to close down the park at Dupont Circle, long considered the center of Washington, D.C.'s historically LGBTQ neighborhood.
On Monday, June 2, the National Park Service announced that the park at the center of Dupont Circler would be closed to the public from June 5 to June 9, which coincides with the apex of the WorldPride DC 2025 festivities, a global LGBTQ celebration D.C. is hosting for the first time.
A fundamentalist church in Indianapolis is defending a June 29 sermon in which a lay preacher urged congregants to pray for LGBTQ people to die and suggested they kill themselves.
The remarks, delivered by Stephen Falco during a “Men’s Preaching Night” at Sure Foundation Baptist Church, included multiple homophobic slurs, biblical references, and rants against Pride Month, LGBTQ rights, and what he called “disgusting” and “evil” behavior, according to TheIndianapolis Star.
"Why do I hate sodomites, why do I hate f****ts? Because they attack children," Falco ranted in the sermon, video of which was posted to Sure Foundation Baptist Church's YouTube channel. "They're coming after your children, they are attacking them in schools today, and not only schools, in public places, and they're proud about it!
Jonathan Joss, who voiced the character of John Redcorn in the animated comedy series King of the Hill, was shot and killed by a neighbor with whom he had allegedly clashed.
In addition to his role on King of the Hill, Joss was also known for a recurring part as Chief Hen Hotate in Parks and Recreation, as well as appearances in Tulsa King, Ray Donovan, True Grit, and The Magnificent Seven.
According to TMZ, the 59-year-old was shot on his property in San Antonio, Texas, allegedly by his neighbor, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, who was arrested and remains in police custody.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.