US: Massachusetts mayor pledges to donate to LGBT charity in response to anti-LGBT calls
A Massachusetts mayor is pledging to donate $5 (£3) to the North Shore Alliance of LGBT Youth each time she receives an anti-LGBT phone call for cutting ties with Gordon College.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll terminated a contract with Gordon College on 9 July after college president D Michael Lindsay signed an open letter to US President Barack Obama demanding that the college be granted an exemption to his planned executive order to ban LGBT discrimination in employment.
Without the contract, the Christian college is not allowed to use city-owned property, including Salem Town Hall to conduct business.
Since terminating the contract, the mayor’s office has received a flood of anti-LGBT phone calls from right-wing supporters, which came after conservative television host Glenn Beck commented on the case on his website.
The mayor announced via letter and a Facebook post yesterday that she would donate to a local LGBT charity in protest of the negativity.
The Facebook post said: “Apparently, Glenn Beck is not happy about the City’s stance terminating our contract with Gordon College…as a result, today we had over 50 phone calls from ‘friends’ in Texas, Georgia and similar locals looking to connect with ‘the Mayor’ about this issue.
“Many of the callers began the conversation seeking to speak with the Mayor by asking if ‘he’ was available… Anyway, decided that we should start our own little ‘peoples pledge’ effort with respect to these callers.
“So, I’m donating $5 to the North Shore Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (Nagly) for each call I receive from Texas, Georgia, etc. in protest of our stance to terminate our contract with Gordon College. Feel free to join in on the pledge if you like!”
