Gay-Friendly Hollywood Church Vandalized AGAIN -- This Time, in Broad Daylight

By Simone Wilson Thu., Mar. 3 2011 at 2:42 PM

Update: Another anti-gay sign incident has been spotted in West Hollywood. See WeHo Daily for details.

There's a homophobic Hollywood-ite on the loose, and he's slashing "equality"s left and right:

One month after the banner in front of the Hollywood United Methodist Church was vandalized to read "THIS CHURCH SUPPORTS MARRIAGE ~~EQUALITY~~," the replacement banner -- an open letter to the mystery vandal -- has been altered to almost the same effect.

Only difference is, the removal of the word "equality" was performed in broad daylight, and for that, looks a heck of a lot more janky:

Hollywood United Methodist Church

The vandal's last strike was all but admired for its dark precision, a finely cut rectangle without the loose seams and hasty jags of his or her latest. For the sake of comparison:

Hollywood United Methodist Church

Another element of Tuesday's crime that has church officials amused: There was really no way for their message to be altered this time around. Marketing Director Chad Darnell posted to HUMC's Facebook page: "The word 'Equality' appears in this banner 14 times. Whoever vandalized the sign, you missed a few."

Despite the fact that the replacement banner will cost $300 to $500 to replace, Pastoral Associate Dave Stambaugh tells the Weekly today that "we still need to love and pray for those who disagree with us."

He says the church, located at the intersection of Highland and Franklin Avenues, will leave the botched sign up until members figure out what to raise in its place -- plus, "it's sort of topical, I guess."

Like last time, HUMC has received an outpouring of support from around the nation.

So... Maybe don't use the word "equality" next time? Stambaugh says that's an option the church will have to consider: "It's something we're passionate about. But it won't pay to keep spending $500 every two weeks."

On a more optimistic note, check out HUMC's totally mod sermon series "Living your life beyond 140 characters" (just a blip in its packed, true-to-Hollywood schedule of celeb luncheons and Oscar-viewing parties), about "how social networking is such a big part of our lives."

Ironically, it's vetted on Twitter. And speaking of Twitter:

Word.

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

Tags:

equality, gay marriage, gay rights, Hollywood United Methodist Church, vandalism

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Paulangelo

This is very unusual. But it goes to show you how aggressive some people are when it comes to their views at marriage and gay people.

Here is a gay marriage press release that helps gay men overcome the challeneges:

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“In the gay community, there is a focus on sex. It’s easy to find partners online, at bars, and the like in South Florida,” said Paul Angelo, “It’s a primary topic of conversation, but most men don’t seem to realize that it makes it more difficult to begin a relationship when everywhere they go, it revolves around hooking up.”

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“They don’t teach relationship skills in schools and it’s no surprise that as gay men we have major difficulties finding relationships. We have not had traditional role models of our heterosexual counterparts,“ notes Angelo. “Relationships take effort and skill and you have two options. First, you can use the trial and error method and take 20 years or a lifetime to learn it or you can hire a relationship coach who has a relationship himself, who practices what he preaches, and who can coach you.“

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“Short term gratification is often the opposite of long term gratification,” states Angelo. “As with fast food, the short term gratification comes at a price. By focusing on long term gratification by postponing the obvious sexual pleasure you can create a stronger bond and relationship.”

About Paul Angelo: Angelo provides health coaching, relationship coaching and lifestyle coaching to maximize the outcome of gay matchmaking. Paul Angelo is the author of several audio programs, such as “Relationship Matrix” and “Fitness Matrix” for gay men over 40. He has two master’s degrees: an MHA and an MBA and has worked as a computer programmer and IT Director. His background in business and technology makes him a unique addition to the world of personal matchmaking and coaching.

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RHPSabby

Keep equality as part of the banner! It's clearly what's getting to these people which usually means they're concerned others will be receptive to the term. Even if you've got to take a giant Sharpie to some banner paper and Duct tape it behind the hole I say do it! And when they rip it off, just put another patch up! You could even used colored paper and cycle through the rainbow as they keep trying to steal people's equality!