From: NewNowNext
The Equality House, which sits directly across from the notoriously anti-LGBT Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, was vandalized last week with homophobic graffiti and several bullet holes.
Aaron Jackson, president of Planting Peace and founder of the Equality House, was inside the home at the time of the attack. He recalls waking up at just after one in the morning to a series of loud noises coming from outside.
He quickly called police. Once they arrived, officers found “Fuk Fags” scrawled across the house in spray paint. A few days later, they discovered seven bullet holes along the house’s exterior.
“The Equality House has been a target for acts of hate and intolerance that reflect the same experiences our LGBT family face every day,” Jackson told NBC. “Planting Peace frequently receives hate mail and even death threats, but over the past three months we have seen an increase in physical acts of vandalism and violence. While it may seem shocking to some, it’s a heartbreaking reality.”
According to Jackson, a group of men purporting to be members of the KKK recently stopped by the house to announce that they were launching an “open season” against LGBT people. This past June, the house was pelted with feces and urine.
Equality House was erected in 2013 and has since become an important symbol for the LGBT community. Though Jackson was initially concerned about safety, he’s said the past three years have been relatively peaceful until this summer.
“In three years of existence, this is the most activity we’ve seen, beyond the regular incidents of people driving by and yelling anti-LGBT slurs,” Jackson said.
Though the incident has shaken up Jackson and his fellow organizers, Planting Peace remains focused on spreading its message of love and acceptance.
“The reality is that a lot of the advances that have been made have to do with other people knowing LGBT people in their lives or on TV,” Potok said. “More and more Americans know someone closely who is LGBT, whether it’s a sibling, parent, friend or co-worker. As people come out of the closet more and more, there has been more acceptance.”
Planting Peace works on a number of different projects, including supporting anti-bullying programs, finding homes for HIV-positive orphans in Haiti and getting anti-parasite medications to children in Guatemala.
They’ve also been responsible for satirical billboards blasting anti-LGBT legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi as well as for planting a Pride flag in space.
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