Houston's Pride Portraits 'Be Visible' Wall Vandalized

"The Pride Portraits BE VISIBLE wall has been targeted with hate. Our hearts are heavy but we will RESIST. 

LOVE to all,
Eric, Hugo, Crimson, Jenni and Scott."

That was the message that greeted us on the Pride Portraits Facebook page this morning as we discovered that the Pride Portraits 'Be Visible' wall that has been on the side of the Jenni's Noodle House location in the Heights since April has unfortunately been vandalized.

The wall was created by artist Hugo Perez, and was dedicated back on April 5 in a ceremony that included Jim Obergefell.  A quote from Obergefell is included in the pride wall painting that reads:

“I march because of the people who marched before me. Thanks to them, I live in a better world due to their bravery, and I owe it to them and those who come after me to continue the fight for equality.”

As you probably guessed, the malicious vandalizing of the seven month old wall has already pissed off and galvanized local advocates to not only make plans to repair the damage, but increase security so that it won't happen again.

Eric Edward Schell of Pride Portraits had this to say about the vandalism of the wall

"The amount of emboldened hate it took for an individual to deface the pride wall, thats sole mission is to uplift, affirm and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community in my opinion is a direct result of our current political climate. Donald J. Trump and his administration are directly responsible for the uprise in anti LGBTQIA+ hate crimes across the United States," said Schell. 

"This type of vandalism brings me right back to the Pulse shooting and the realization that people want our community silenced if not dead for simply existing. Being visible in our community puts a target on our backs but visibility it is imperative to our right to exist in society," he continued.

"There is no “gay agenda”. We are not asking for extra rights. We are not asking that you have less rights. We are seeking equality."

A donation for a security camera to watch the wall has already been made by a generous donor, and other people in the Houston community are already stepping up to volunteer to repaint the the wall and restore it back to its original glory.

If a GoFundMe or other online fundraising effort pops up to raise money to pay for the repairs to the Be Visible wall, I'll post it here.

And to the cowardly tagger who did this, a message for you.   How about you, your Republican and your evilgelical friends stop your anti-gay hate agenda?

And for those of you wondering what the 'gay agenda' the conservafools always whine about is?

1. Be visible
2. Respect our human rights
3. Respect our humanity
4. Be proud of who we are
5. See 1-4