A mayor in Britain has resigned
following a drag queen's campaign to expose his opposition to the
LGBT community.
According to the BBC, Richard Smith
stepped down from his position as mayor of Ferryhill following an
online campaign from local drag queen Tess Tickle.
“I was in total shock and disbelief
that the mayor of Ferryhill was posting such hate against
homosexuality, Islam and transgender people,” Tickle
told the BBC.
“Everybody's entitled to their own
views and beliefs. However, sharing things in a public domain in a
position of power … it's not acceptable. I thought, it needs to be
highlighted,” Tickle said.
Tickle highlighted Smith's posts on her
own Facebook page. One post featured a cartoon of a mother shushing
her daughter who is complaining about a transgender woman – drawn
with a mustache – using the women's restroom. “Shhhhh...We
aren't allowed to speak the truth any more...,” the mother tells
her daughter. Other posts shared by Smith include homophobic
messages such as gay people are “an abomination” and “worthy of
death.”
In announcing his resignation, Smith
said that he was “denied the opportunity to hold personal views”
and suggested that his posts were taken out of context.
It's a “matter of sincere regret to
me that those personal views have been so tragically and outrageously
twisted and reported on in order to discredit both myself and my
faith,” said Smith, who is also a preacher.