An Edmonton woman spent Tuesday night tearing down flyers in the city’s core, appalled at their anti-LGBTQ messages.
“Quite disturbing and unsettling,” Janis Irwin said. “This can be hurtful and this can be damaging.”
For the second time since the end of May, Irwin found the flyers posted on bus shelters throughout the 118 Avenue neighbourhood. Some of the flyers were still posted on buildings in the area and downtown on Wednesday.
“Canada will be punished for the sin of homosexuality,” read one of the flyers. “Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?”
“The sin of homosexuality will destroy Canada,” read another, which also included three Bible verses. “Don’t even associate with such people.”
Irwin took to Twitter to share the flyers Tuesday night, encouraging others to tear them down.
“That’s one of the disturbing parts is that this person has invested a lot of time and energy in covering the neighbourhood. I wonder if this is a cry for help and I hope that that person can get the help that they need, or those people,” Irwin said.
“We know that this isn’t our city. We are a loving city and this is a very small minority that’s expressing this opinion.”
Fellow LGBTQ advocates in the city also condemn the messages.
“We’re so used to thinking of Edmonton as a really welcoming city to the LGBTQ community,” Stephanie Dickie with Edmonton Pride Festival Society said, adding more than 30,000 people showed up to watch this year’s Pride Parade in the cold and rain.
“To be reminded that there are still people here that maybe don’t want us to feel safe or don’t even want us to exist is pretty heartbreaking.”
“These aren’t the values of Edmontonians, these aren’t the values of Albertans,” added Kris Wells, faculty director with the University of Alberta’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies & Services.
“In fact, if people see those posters, they need to report them to the Edmonton Police Service as a hate incident,” he continued. “It’s usually the case where people are not willing to talk about issues; they just want to instill fear and terror into a community.”
READ MORE: Edmonton police release surveillance video of suspect in hate flyers case
Irwin found several versions of the flyer, which include the names, addresses and websites of a number of Edmonton churches. The lead pastor of one of the churches named, Mill Woods Assembly, said the flyers are in no way affiliated with his congregation.
“It is unfortunate that some unknown individual has taken the liberty to do this,” Phil Kniesel said in an email to Global News.
Irwin said she reached out to the other churches, who said they were not responsible for the flyers. Irwin is worried the churches are being unfairly targeted.
LGBTQ advocates in the city hope the church leaders will turn this into a positive experience.
“I feel sorry for them that they were targeted as part of those messages,” Dickie said. “I certainly hope that those churches will take it as an opportunity to give some messages of support to members of our community.”
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Irwin contacted the EPS Hate Crimes Unit after she found the first set of flyers in late May. Police said the report was reviewed and determined not to meet the criteria for a hate crime, classifying the flyers as a “hate incident.”
READ MORE: What’s the difference between a hate crime and a hate incident?
Irwin said she has also been in contact with the Hate Crimes Unit about the latest set of flyers.
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