Just when you think that so much progress has been made...

This is from the Second Baptist Church in Palermo, Maine. It's in the Augusta area of Waldo County. As upsetting as this sign is on a church (catch the 'every life matters poster under) it's not as upsetting as the gentleman's story who took this picture.

Stan York/Facebook
Stan York/Facebook
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His name is Stan York, and this is what he wrote on his Facebook page about that sign...

I am sad to see this sign at the Second Baptist Church on Route Three in Palermo. Sad because this is the town where my husband Tom and I raised our sons, participating in local and school functions with other parents and their families. The same town where we have run a business for over 30 years and employed many Palermo residents. The town where we were both elected as town officials (myself as Treasurer and Tom as a Selectperson) in the late 90s and early 2000s. And now, in 2019, I need to drive my grandchildren past this sign on our way to our family camp; and when they ask questions I have to explain to them about homophobia and hatred, and how their grandparents are not seen as productive and loving members of the community, but people to be feared, shunned and ostracized. It is Pride Month for the LGBT community, and I am so very proud of myself and my husband. But I am sad that our children and grandchildren still have to see signs like this one in their back yard.

I am not naive enough to think that this type of ignorance doesn't exist anymore...but it still saddens me. It no longer makes me spitting mad like it used to...now it just makes me sad.

It makes me sad that in 2019, with gay marriage legal in all states, that there are people that hide behind bible passages and claim to know what's right and decent. If one day all the gay people in the world turned purple, most people would be shocked to know that some of the nicest, hardest working, decent people also happen to be gay.

For now, we'll just have to remember that only we can change homophobia. So tell your kids that no matter what your faith, people should be judged on many things - who they love shouldn't be one of them.

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