https://youtu.be/tK1lOkVwqbc
Following the Orlando massacre last weekend, controversial stickers and posters featuring a rainbow-colored version of the Gadsen flag and the hashtag #ShootBack have appeared in the West Hollywood. The signage appeared near West Hollywood City Hall, the Pacific Design Center and along Santa Monica Boulevard on Thursday morning. A number of stickers and signs were to be seen near the Abbey Food & Bar.
“We are disturbed by them,” West Hollywood Mayor Lauren Meister said of the posters. “We don’t believe in an eye for an eye, and we advocate against gun violence.”
According to a report in the LA Times, Capt. Holly Perez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department West Hollywood Station said, “I understand the sentiment behind them and 1st Amendment rights, but it’s a bad message. I hope it’s just people venting that they could do this, and I’m hoping their calmness will take over. It’s our job to keep you safe.”
West Hollywood Councilman John Duran, who is gay, said the signs were upsetting and not the right message for the gay community. “Even during our heightened days of civil disobedience and protest, we have only advocated peaceful means, never arming ourselves and retaliating with violence,” Duran said.
Watch the ABC 7 report above.
