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That sure looks like targeting gay people because you hate them and are trying to intimidate them. “This is about being proud-about being who you are,” Vaccaro said. In the case being discussed, the perp set fire to a gay flag hanging outside a gay bar. “It just shows that we have a lot of work to do, and it’s important that we do this work together,” Bensel said.Īs for Vaccaro, he said he and his husband are determined to not let anything stifle the spirit of their LGBT friends and neighbors. Greg Ventura (right), who discovered the Pride flag outside his home burned on Tuesday night, told WXXI that he believes it was a targeted hate crime. It is a United Methodist college, a religious institution. Novemat 2:23 pm This is NOT a private college. When I say that please provide proof and don’t just say Hey dumb faggot (which is very offensive obviously), you’re wrong. “It hits us to the core,” said Mike Bensel, the executive director of the Pride Center of Vermont.īensel said he hopes people see the apparent arson as a reminder to stay focused on protecting and strengthening human rights. Actually James, burning a gay pride flag is a hate crime I believe Correct me if I am wrong. (KETV) A man who stole his gay neighbors' pride flag and then burnt. We’re not going to return hate with hate, and you’re not going to douse our love.”Īdding insult to injury for Vaccaro-the discovery came the first weekend of June’s LGBT Pride Month. Cameron Mayfield may not be laughing soon though as he faces felony charges of arson aggravated by a hate crime, reports KETV. The LGBT community is about love, not hate. When asked what he would say to the person who lit the flag on fire, Vaccaro responded, “Love wins. Murad asked anyone who might have seen anything suspicious in the area of Archibald Street or Riverside Avenue to call Detective John Stoughton at 80.Ī replacement flag quickly went up on the couple’s porch in Burlington’s Old North End. Police believe the fire was set sometime late Friday into early Saturday morning.īoston School Committee Votes to Close Troubled Mission Hill School Murad told necn and NBC 10 Boston that his investigators are working to secure surveillance footage from the area of the home, in an attempt to generate leads. Chief Jon Murad of the Burlington Police Department. “I think Burlingtonians need to respond to an act like this with support and a very vocal position of saying, ‘This is unacceptable to us,’” said Dep. Vaccaro noted the act risked a house fire.īurlington Police are investigating the case as a hate crime. Vaccaro showed necn and NBC 10 Boston the melted and charred remnants of the couple’s Pride flag, which was turned into a hard mass that was fused to their porch railing. “We were shaking,” Chris Vaccaro of Burlington recalled, describing his reaction when he and his husband learned their flag was torched. Police in Vermont’s largest city are investigating an apparent arson as a hate crime after a gay couple’s rainbow Pride flag was lit on fire on their front porch.