An Oregon teen irritated by two men
protesting against homosexuality decided to hold a counter protest.
Standing on the corner of the busiest
intersection in downtown Tillamook, the two men held signs which read
“Homo sex is sin!” and shouted insults at passersby.
“I was so irritated, because I see
them all around town, and all they ever do is make people feel like
crap about themselves,” Makaila Ragan, 19, said of the protest
happening outside the optometrist office where her mother works.
With an “I [heart] gays” sign,
Ragan began her own counter protest, the Tillamook County Pioneer
reported.
The two men targeted the high school
junior with personal insults.
“They were calling me names, and
asking my mom questions, like, 'How many times did you have to get an
abortion before you were able to have your daughter?' and saying,
'You're going to burn in hell right along with your daughter,'” she
said. “The things they were saying were just awful, but I didn't
let them faze me.”
Ragan's counter protest grew, with an
estimated 45 demonstrators joining her. People brought them food and
flowers and one man gave them money.
“[He] told us all go buy drinks or
something,” she said.
The counter protesters outlasted the
men.
“I was there from 4 until about
10:30,” she said. “The two men finally left at 10:30, so we all
left after that.”
One of the street preachers told the
paper that he focuses on homosexuality because it's the “hot-button
issue” of the day.
Supporters launched Tillamook
for Love, a Facebook group, to help organize additional
demonstrations.
On Thursday, the group posted photos of
a counter protest taking place in a Safeway parking lot.
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