TOPEKA, Kan. —
Planting Peace has waged a war against Westboro Baptist Church. It's weapon? A paintbrush.
The non-profit environmental conservation agency — which raises money for such endeavors as de-worming children in Haiti, according to its Facebook Page — has purchased a home in Topeka, Kan., across the street from the infamous church and painted it the colors of the gay pride flag.
Westboro is known to picket funerals of slain soldiers and other victims of tragedy and preach a message of hate against the gay community.
Members of the church picketed the funeral of Enid resident Chris Hake in 2008.
Planting Peace came across the property for sale on a whim of its founder, Aaron Jackson, when he was researching the church after seeing a young child countering the its homophobic message with a sign that read, "God Hates No One," according to the Huffington Post.
"I didn't know anything about the church or where they were located, but that story kept popping up. And one night I wondered, Where is this church? I got on Google Earth, and I was 'walking down the road,' and I did a 360 view. And I saw a 'For Sale' sign sitting in the front yard of a house. Right away it hit me, Oh my gosh, I could buy a house in front of the WBC! And immediately I thought: And I'm going to paint that thing the color of the pride flag."
Since the paint was applied to Equality House, the group has received a lot of honks from passing cars, the OK from the city of Topeka that it is not violating an ordinances, and thank-yous from a soldier who walked up to the door with a personal message, according to Planting Peace's Facebook Page.
"U.S. veterans keep coming to the door & thanking us. We are united against bigotry. Out of Many, Come One."
Organization officials also posted, "Shirley Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church just waved & said she loved the colors... So we all blew her kisses."
Details provided by The Enid, OK, News and Eagle.
Community News Network
Related Photos
-
The Enid, OK, News and Eagle
Discussion
Non-profit gets back at Westboro church with rainbow house
- Community News Network
-
-
SLIDESHOW: Tornado passes through Oklahoma
A fast-moving storm brought rain, hail and tornadoes to Oklahoma late Sunday afternoon and evening.
-
Officer treated and released after injuries from Oklahoma windstorm
Enid, Okla. police officer Lee Friesendahl was treated and released at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center Saturday night after his patrol car was struck by a strong windstorm triggered by a heat burst.
-
The story behind the viral deer on a bus video
The way bus driver John Porter tells it, some of his co-workers now call him “John Deer.”
-
Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
Kurt Millard spent most of last weekend in jail, locked up on another man’s arrest warrant. The 26-year-old resident of Joplin, Mo. could not convince his jailers they had the wrong guy.
-
VIDEO: Bombing suspect allegedly wrote confession in boat
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly penned a note inside the boat where he was found hiding from authorities, explaining his rationale for his part in the deadly explosion.
-
When the earth moves under our feet
One of the most breath-taking geologic events is a major earthquake. In just a few moments, shaking of the Earth can result in billions of dollars of damage and thousands of lives lost.
-
Hacker group Anonymous targets Mass. city's computers
The internationally-known hacker activist group Anonymous recently targeted the Methuen's computer system in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a Methuen High School student.
-
VIDEO: Interview with Charles Ramsey, rescuer of Amanda Berry
After going missing more than 10 years ago, Amanda Berry shouted to a man from a house on Monday.
-
VIDEO: Obama believes US-Mexico stereotypes must be broken
President Barack Obama says he wants to set aside old stereotypes that have created misunderstanding between Mexico and the United States. He says Mexico is an emerging nation that is remaking itself.
-
The best and worst jobs in the current economy
With rapid changes in the economy, some jobs are valued more than others, meaning if you can land one, there's usually higher pay and more perks. Meanwhile, other jobs that have traditionally been considered desirable have slipped toward the bottom of the heap.
- More Community News Network Headlines
-
