The members of the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church have a new view from their windows. Activists with Planting Peace painted a house next door to the church with the bright colors of the rainbow flag.
The rainbow flag is used to signify gay pride and diversity. Planting Peace is a progressing non-profit group that supports gay rights.
The house is located at 1200 S.W. Orleans Street in Topeka, Kansas. It is directly across the street from what is known as the Westboro “compound”. The compound is comprised of the church as well as several homes that are owned by members of the church.
Planting Peace founder Aaron Jackson, 31, purchased the home six months ago. Jackson explained why he purchased the home and painted it with the rainbow flag.
“It hit me right away…huh. That would be interesting to own a house across from the Westboro Baptist Church and turn it into something. And then within five seconds, I’ll paint it the color of the pride flag. Perfect.”
“I feel the Westboro Baptist Church is the poster child that’s pushing inequality. So I thought the best place to start was to counter the Westboro Baptist Church’s message.”
Jackson is planning on turning the house into The Equality House, a drop in center that will support many different LGBT and anti-bullying programs. Planting Peace launched the CrowdRise page in order to raise $1 million in funds to support the programs The Equality House will offer.
Planting Peace’s website states, “For too long, the Westboro Baptist Church has been targeting the LGBTQ community with message of hate and radicalism. Often, protesting American soldiers’ funerals and organizations that support equality.”
“This faction preaches extremism in our communities and directly targets our youth. To combat their messages of hate and to support equality and anti-bullying initiatives in schools and in our community, Planting Peace has established the Equality House in Topeka, KS.”
Through Wednesday morning, Planting Peace has raised more than $18,000.
Be sure to check out Kelly’s other columns:
National Family and Parenting Examiner
National Sports Celebrity Examiner
Sex and Relationships Examiner
If you liked this article, click the Subscribe button to receive email updates when a new article is published. Follow Kelly on Facebook and Twitter or connect on Pinterest. Find more by Kelly on her website.
©Kelly Cozzone, All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced without prior permissions from the author. Partial reposting is permitted with a link back to the original article.
Comments