There has been a new addition in the neighborhood of the prominent Westboro Baptist Church: a rainbow painted house located directly across the street. The house in Topeka, Kan. was purchased by Aaron Jackson, the 31-year-old co-founder of Planting Peace, a nonprofit organization. According to their website, plantingpeace.org, the organization was founded for the “purpose of spreading peace in a hurting world.” “Although our organization operates on a global level, we emphasize the power of one; the ability that each person possesses to make a difference in the world,” they explain.
Jackson, who considers himself a straight ally, found the house while looking at the street-view on Google Maps, trying to get a glimpse of the infamous church. He saw that the home across the street had a “for sale” sign on the front lawn. With donations, he was able to purchase the small home, which has been renamed the “Equality House.”
A page on plantingpeace.org has been dedicated to the household saying, “The house, which is painted the colors of the Pride flag, will serve as the resource center for all Planting Peace equality and anti-bullying initiatives and will stand as a visual reminder of our commitment, as global citizens, to equality for all.”
Sadly, the Equality House won’t be able to conduct a large amount of business. “Because the home is in a residential neighborhood, Jackson said it can’t serve as an office. But it gives equality-project volunteers a place to stay if needed,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Such an act is a simple sign to someone trapped in the closet that there are people who care about them––and that can make a big difference in someone’s life,” says Christian Reich, president of UT’s GLTSBA Pride (Gay Lesbian Transgender Straight Bisexual Asexual Pride). “To hear that it is an ally and not even someone who identifies as LGBT is even better.”
For a church whose website URL is godhatesfags.com, the Westboro Baptists didn’t seem too furious about the Equality House. They released a statement saying, “Thank God for the sodomite rainbow house!”
They also mentioned that there are many other rainbow houses around the world; the Equality House has only reached fame because of its location. “You can paint rainbows on every house in America, and homosexuality will still be an abominable sin in the eyes of God. God’s word doesn’t change, just because ‘culture has moved on.’ It’s not okay to be gay, it never was ok to be gay, and it never will be ok to be gay,” says the WBC.
“It’s hard to be gay and not know about the WBC,” says Reich. “At this point, they are simply amusing and no longer hurtful to me… not that I wouldn’t mind them disappearing.”
The followers of WBC have given the world a warped sense of Christianity. By protesting at the funerals of soldiers who fight for us to maintain our religious freedom and holding up offensive signs that say things like “Jews are the real Nazis,” they have gone against one of the key aspects that the bible demotes: hate. Of everything that I’ve learned over the years from being raised in a Christian household and attending a Christian school, it is that God loves everyone, despite race, faith, background, and sexual orientation.
It is surprising that the only action the WBC took was releasing a statement by e-mail. For a group so hateful and extreme, I wonder why they’re still allowing the house to stand without a fight. One would think that they would try to protest, but days have gone by and there hasn’t been a single outcry from the WBC. Time will only tell.
I am extremely glad that Aaron Jackson made the Equality House. The WBC needed someone to really get in their face and stand up against all the awful things they’ve done. Not only is the Equality House a great statement for peace, but the followers of the WBC can’t do anything about it being there. The Equality House will keep shining bright in a neighborhood poisoned by a church that runs on hate, and I would hope that Planting Peace makes many more like it.
Jessica Forte can be reached at jessica.forte@spartans.ut.edu