Sick homophobes scrawl ‘paedophile’ on gay couple’s front door in terrifying attack
The gay couple’s home was defaced with vile messages calling them “paedophiles”. (Envato Elements)
Vandals who spray painted vile homophobic messages on a gay couple’s house in Leuven, Belgium, have been condemned for their “hateful” actions.
The couple, who have not been named, had their home spray painted with messages such as “I like young boys” and “paedophile”.
“The police have been on the scene and made the findings,” Mathieu Caudron, a police spokesman, told HLN of the vile attack.
“We take these facts very seriously and an official report has been drawn up. We are now going to investigate everything further and trace the perpetrators,” he said, according to The Brussels Times.
The horrific messages were scrawled on the couple’s front door, as well as on the outside walls of the house, according to local media reports.
Vandals who targeted gay couple in Belgium described as ‘hateful’
Political figures and activists in Belgium have reacted with shock to the news, which comes just days a gay man was brutally murdered by three youths.
“I think this is terrible. You would think the gay haters would crawl back under their rock after the horrific facts of the past weekend, but unfortunately that is not the cases,” said Lorin Parys, a Flemish MP.
“We need to stand up against the idiotic beliefs and get rid of them as soon as possible. These facts can be life-threatening and strict action must be taken.”
Lies Corneillie, alderman for equal opportunities in Leuven, Belgium, said they plan to work with local LGBT+ organisations to find ways to support the queer community following the incident.
“We condemn this kind of hateful action,” Corneillie said. “We take these facts very seriously. Incidents like this rightly provoke a lot of indignation. In Leuven, we do everything possible to support the LGBT community. Everyone should be able to be themselves and get equal opportunities.”
The news comes as the European Union was declared an “LGBTIQ freedom zone” in response to simmering homophobia and transphobia in some countries in the region, including Poland and Hungary.
The EU’s declaration says LGBT+ people in the territory “should enjoy the freedom to live and publicly show their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear of intolerance, discrimination or persecution.”
