Hateful signs make our town an ugly place to reside and visit- Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church often has homophobic signs out front for the whole world to see. Pastor Tyrel Bramwell of Saint Marks stirred up enough hate with his anti-gay rhetoric inside the church that some his congregation made threats against the safety of other families in Ferndale in order to get a Drag show cancelled. The next sign the church put up was “Praise God the Drag Show at the Old Steeple is cancelled.” Homophobia and gloating about threats of violence should not adorn any sign hanging in a friendly and loving town like Ferndale. 

These signs make the LGBTQIA families and ally families of Ferndale feel afraid and unwelcome in their own town - where most of them were born and raised. Gay children are fearful to return to the town they grew up in to purchase homes and contribute to the local economy because of a pastor from Wyoming (Yes, seriously, someone from another state is making it a scary place to live for people born and raised here). The news of homophobia spreads nationally, and tourist dollars do not often grace towns becoming more and more known for hatred and threats of violence. 

If we can’t get Pastor Bramwell removed, maybe we can subject them to the rules everyone else in town must follow: no ugly signs scaring away local families and tourist dollars