House may have been torched because owner was gay

[Rick336]

From 365gay.com News:

(Newton, North Carolina) A fire that destroyed a home in Newton, North Carolina may have been started by someone targeting its owner because he is gay, county and state investigators say.

Melvin Whistlehunt was at work when his mother called to tell him that his home was on fire. When he arrived home firefighters were sifting through the wreckage.

Firefighters found homophobic and racist slurs spray painted on the back of the building.

Read more of the story here--->http://www.365gay.com/news/investigators-house-may-have-been-torched-because-owner-was-gay/



Rick

[Soulmates]

You know, we live in the Raleigh area and sad as it is, it's still, very much the OLD SOUTH here. I've been here 25 years, and not seen a whole lot of change. I work at Duke, a VERY diverse organization. I'm also very fortunate to be able to be OUT with all of my co-workers. Alas, one of my closest friends at work is a gay man and he refuses to come out. Because of what we do, though in procurement, we are working with lots of mechanics, plumbers, hvac guys etc. All very macho men, and my dear friend, feels he'll become a target of a hate crime. You see, being a gay man is very different than being a lesbian here. So hearing about this, I'm simply not surprised. My partner, is one of the few female federal officers at the prison she works at. It's STILL, a very "Don't ask, don't tell" envrionment there. Again, have we really come that far? I say, for every 10 steps forward, we fall back 12.:(