A screenshot of the flyer sent to Nashville gay bars – Photo: NBC News.
At least four gay bars in Nashville have received flyers featuring the type of assault rifle used in the Pulse nightclub massacre, in what some are calling a form of “targeted hate mail.”
Melvin Brown, owner of Stirrup Sports Bar, found the flyer in the bar’s mailbox last week. Brown said he believes whoever created the piece of mail was intending to send a “very deliberate” threat, reports News Channel 5 Nashville.
The flyers feature the letters “LGBT,” with a picture above each letter. Above the L is a picture of the Statue of Liberty, above the G is a picture of the assault rifle, a bottle of beer is above the B, and a picture of Trump is above the T.
“We live in a post-Pulse world in the LGBTQ community, especially in the bar scene,” Brown told NBC News. “To see somebody send a postcard that had a picture of the weapon used in one of the deadliest assaults in this nation’s history, and one that happened at an LGBTQ bar, and to send that image to LGBTQ bars, to me is not a coincidence.”
The postcard had a “MAGA” stamp on the back of it and has a return address that traces back to an empty lot in downtown Nashville.
Brown also believes the postcard may be trying to provoke a certain reaction prior to this year’s midterm elections. At least three other gay bars received identical flyers.
Chris Sanders, the executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, also believes the flyers were politically motivated, because Stirrup Sports Bar and other gay bars often host voter registration drives.
“This has a very aggressive tone about it,” Sanders told NBC News. “It doesn’t use many words, but it uses a lot of images I think are meant to threaten us. The community’s message back is, ‘Yes this is frightening, but we’re going to turn out and vote regardless.'”
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said the department is aware of the incident, but there is no investigation at this time.
The Group American As F*ck, a veteran-owned clothing company that specializes in shirts and jerseys with funny or conservative memes, contacted Metro Weekly to claim credit for the original design, with CEO Shawn Wylde saying the design was meant to be funny.
“For what it’s worth, the image that we created has nothing to do with shootings or hate. It’s quite popular in the pro-Trump gay community,” Wylde notes. “It was created prior to the Pulse Night Club tragedy…. We really hope it wasn’t sent with hateful intent.”
Brown says that if the flyers using that logo were sent to gay bars as some form of threat, rather than in jest, they won’t intimidate people, but will rather “galvanize” them into taking action.
“People will respond in ways that are positive and uplifting, because that’s the way we choose to live our lives,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include comment from the clothing company American As F*ck, which claims credit for the original design.
Donnell Jetters, of Waco, Texas, was arrested after he fired a gun at a relative who came out as gay.
On March 14, around 9 p.m., police officers were dispatched to a home in the North Lake Waco section of the city in response to a report of a disturbance involving a gun.
The victim in the case called 9-1-1 after escaping from the home but returned to the scene shortly after officers arrived. Investigators discovered that Jetters and the victim, who was a family member, had gotten into an argument after the latter came out as gay.
The family member told police they left the residence after hearing Jetters cocking a pistol. They claimed he later pointed the weapon at them while they were fleeing, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
“I was talking to a couple of homosexuals down in Melbourne, and they were talking to me about listening to Kylie,” John Grant says rather gleefully, clearly relishing this anecdote from his recent tour of Australia. “And I was like, ‘She came and guested at my show at Royal Albert Hall, and came on stage during ‘Glacier.’” The Aussies’ response? “They were just looking at me like I had two heads on my shoulders. They were looking at me like a German Shepherd hearing a weird noise.
“It was really hilarious,” he continues, “because it was just as epic for me as it was for them hearing that.”
Federal prosecutors are declining to pursue charges against James McIntyre, who was accused of injuring U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) by shaking her hand vigorously at a December reception honoring foster advocates.
The 33-year-old McIntyre is a former foster care youth who co-founded the Illinois chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America. He was named "Public Citizen of the Year" by the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 2019 due to his advocacy on behalf of youth in the foster care system.
Mace, one of six co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, delivered a speech praising advocates for foster care youth at a December 10 reception at the Rayburn House Office Building.
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