MEMPHIS, TN-- You may have noticed them on your drive to work or on your commute home.
Billboards are now up in five busy Memphis intersections, recognizing the local gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community.
A sign on Poplar Avenue near High Street features a former marine, with the words "I'm gay and I protected your freedom."
The Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center says the billboards are to show that there are gay people in all walks of life.
“These people are your neighbors, they're the people that sit next to you in church, they're the people that you work with, they're in your families” says MGLCC Executive Director Will Batts. “We're productive members of society.”
With National Coming Out Day coming up on October 11th, the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center wanted to make a big statement-- or rather five big statements in the form of billboards.
“We didn't want it to be just in Cooper/Young or just in Midtown. We wanted it to be as far out of the comfort zone as we could get” says Batts.
Some of the signs refer to a higher power-- like one on in the Cooper/Young district. It features a lesbian couple with the words "We're married and God loves us as we are."
“This is not an attack on religion. This is not an attack on someone else's beliefs. It's simply saying we're religious. We're faithful. We have a different view point” says Batts.
But how will local church groups react to the signs? We made contact with one church that’s located less than a block from one of the billboards.
Pastor Jeff Patrick with Memphis Union Mission did not want to appear on camera, but off camera, he told me this—“As a pastor, I’m against the gay and lesbian lifestyle because of what's in scripture, but I’m also for freedom of speech.”
Watts says so far, he hasn't received any angry phone calls or e-mails, and isn't afraid if they start rolling in.
He adds-- he has received calls in support of the project.
“About two hours after the first one went up someone called and said thank you for putting this up. This helps all of us.”
