The president of the Chatham-Kent Gay Pride Association says she was thrilled to find out that an anti-gay message has been removed from a billboard near Dresden.
Marianne Willson says she found out around supper time on Monday, but had to see it to believe it.
"I was asking for photo evidence of that before I made a statement of any sort," says Willson. "That was sent to me in short order and we are excited to have that billboard now down."
A worker removes a controversial sign at the corner of Kent Bridge Rd. and Countryview Line in Chatham-Kent. August 27, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Jessica Curtis / Facebook)
The billboard at Kent Bridge Rd. and Countryview Line had a number of messages on it, including one that read "God says no to homosexuality and abortion."
Willson says from what she understands, 81-year-old Ralph Baker from Petrolia, who paid to have the sign put up, was also the one who gave consent for it to be taken down.
"I'd like to thank Ralph Baker for removing it -- from my understanding, the municipality did not make that decision, he did," says Willson. "So, thank you to him for removing it from our community."
Willson says she hasn't spoken with Baker yet about the sign or his views on homosexuality, but she says she is still "open to that" even though the message has been taken down.
Reflecting on the message and the reaction it stirred up in the community, Willson also says a lot of good is coming out of the situation.
"The positivity that Chatham-Kent residents have shown... the solidarity and the unity of them coming together in a common message that this does not reflect the municipality of Chatham-Kent has been overwhelming," says Willson. "I think that has been a huge positive for Chatham-Kent and we'll continue to celebrate that inclusivity and diversity that is in Chatham-Kent."
Meanwhile, Baker says he wasn't expecting quite as much backlash for putting up the billboard. Nor was he expecting the story to go viral.
"It's far beyond anything I was expecting," he says. "I thought I knew all the swear words... now I have a new list."
Although Baker says he did receive some positive outreach for practising free-speech, for the most part, many of the comments were negative. Baker says some people would call saying, "I wish you were dead" and "I hope you go to hell."
Despite this past week being "abusive," Baker says he has no regrets about putting the billboard up. He says "it was well worth it" to spread what he calls God's messages. Baker says he does have future plans to work with a church in putting up billboards, however, they won't have the same type of anti-gay messages.