Out gay mayor of Massachussetts town abused for second time in a week
The out gay mayor of a town in Massachusetts has been abused for the second time in a week, having had his campaign poster vandalised.
The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts last week a note saying his gay “lifestyle” makes him “selfish”.
Alex Morse, has received plenty of messages, notes and tweets criticising him, but a note he received last week went further than those.
And now his poster has been vandalised, and someone has added the words “suck’s literally” after his name.
They also added the word “www.gay.com” to the sign.
“I’m a very strong person, so I don’t get personally upset about it,” Morse told the newspaper. “I think it’s important that people be aware of this kind of action.”
The out gay mayor, who was elected the mayor of Holyoke when he was just 22, last week said that he wanted to use the opportunity to show an uptick in these sorts of incidents since Donald trump won the US Presidential race last week.
He said: “It’s a more threatening message than usual, and given the context of the culture that seems to have been elevated since the Trump election, I thought it was important to shine a light on this language and behaviour.
“It’s different than writing a note that says, ‘I don’t support gay marriage,’ or ‘I don’t support rights for someone.’ But to demean someone’s humanity based on their sexuality takes it to another level.”
Going on, he said he felt people of colour felt let down by the result, and that they would be even less protected by their government.
“That’s a pretty disappointing feeling,” he added. “It’s more important than ever before to speak out and come together.”
Morse has said he will file a criminal report about the note.
