SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah activist says Salt Lake City’s two major outdoor advertising companies have refused to allow a billboard that reads “God Loves Gays.”
Organizers behind the website “God Loves Gay People” and the Facebook page “God,” erected the first “God Loves Gays” billboard earlier this month in Topeka, Kan., home to the virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.
The billboard is the result of an online funding campaign that has raised more than $93,000 toward countering Westboro’s “God hates fags” and “God hates America” messaging.
Article continues below
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
KUTV reports that Mark Lawrence of Restoring our Humanity, one of the key players behind Utah’s groundbreaking same-sex marriage lawsuit, contacted the organizers of the campaign to assist in securing a site for the Salt Lake City billboard.
But Lawrence said the idea was rejected by representatives from Reagan Outdoor Advertising and Yesco, who called the subject matter too controversial. He said he is still looking for spots for the billboards, but says they may end up in more out-of-the-way locations.
The two billboard companies couldn’t immediately be reached for comment by the Associated Press.
Organizers behind the billboard campaign commented on Facebook that they are considering Tennessee as a possible future site. A recently erected billboard in Portland, Tenn., proclaims that God says homosexuality “is an abomination.”