“God Loves Gays” billboard erected in hometown of Westboro Baptist Church
Image: God-Loves-Gays-Billboard (source: Equality House)
ONE of the most powerful personalities on social media — figuratively speaking — has taken a swipe at an infamous homophobic group by erecting a “God Loves Gays” billboard in its hometown.
The billboard (pictured above), which appeared yesterday in Topeka, Kansas, where the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is based, came about from a crowdfunding campaign organised by God — a satirical social media character with 1.7 million fans on Facebook alone.
The image has since gone viral on social media, even attracting the ire of WBC themselves (Editor’s note: Don’t worry, we won’t give them the dignity of a link-back to their Twitter account).
Since it was established on Facebook in 2011, God has been posting hilarious memes and snarky posts that poke fun at Christianity, challenging the views of (and angering) fundamentalist Christians along the way.
In early August, he decided to aim at the WBC, and launched an Indiegogo campaign called the God Loves Gays Billboard Project with a fundraising goal of $50,000.
At the time of print, the target was already surpassed and $83,000 has been raised, with just under a month remaining in the campaign.
According to Mashable, the idea for the billboard came from one of God’s social media followers.
“One day I asked them, what would you like the LORD to do in the real world? Well, the top suggestion (with over 1000 likes) was to put up a billboard in Topeka, Kansas that says ‘God Loves Gays’,” he said.
“I shared this idea and asked them if I should do it, and the resounding answer was, ‘yes please, for the love of all that is holy, yes’.”
While the first billboard has already been erected in Topeka, other billboards around the US are also planned, with the additional money raised from the crowdfunding campaign going towards donations to LGBTI charities.
The Topeka billboard is expected to remain in place until at least March 2015.
Details: godlovesgaypeople.com. To make a donation to the crowdfunding campaign, click here.
(Image source: Equality House)
