I fully agree that the guy has a right to fly his sign, expressing his beliefs, and made that clear. Key West being a very welcoming community toward gays, and many of the people on my client list being gay, this could obviously have a very adverse affect on MY OWN business, so I had to take action.
My business would suffer due to his protests because passer by would possibly get the idea that i was somehow connected to the guy and shared and promoted his views if he were in front of me painting or working all the time and in various places. I even once STOPPED another guy i know from physically assulting that guy, talking to him and explaining that doing that would make him just as bad, if not worse, than the guy with the sign.īut when the guy started protesting in front of me working, and disrupting MY business and income, I had to take legal action. Now, I realize the guy has a right to hold his sign in public whenever he wants, and I have no issue with that. he moved down here because he would get shit at shows in his hometown in Delaware.Īnyhow, after the pic took notice online, the guy started following me around town when I would paint murals in public (paid jobs or volunteer work) and protest right in front of me working. Incidentally, for as hardcore as Brian looks and his band sounds, he is openly gay. you can trace it back to Brian's and my own Facebook pages, as well as the Dead In Bed band page. (they sound like Sepultura/early Megadeth.) Anyhow, we never intended for it to become a meme, it just did, and if you dig deep enough on the webs. The guy with the other sign is my buddy Brian, who is the guitarist in the area's best known metal band, Dead In Bed. There is a pretty well known meme where the guy is holding his sign in front of a church, and another guy is holding a sign next to him that says "Fuck This Guy" with an arrow pointing at his sign. Well, for a couple of years, before it was national news, one of those guys was down here in Key West. Remember a while back the guys that would hold up signs reading "God Hates Fags" etc, all around the country in various places.? I actually have a first hand, real life example of how an inflamatory and/or highly charged political statement can cause a business problems. Just because it's legal and makes sense doesn't mean it's right. I have an issue with the principal in general and how our society is accepting it like it's nothing. I perfectly understand that, neither A&E or Phil are my issue.