An openly gay former wrestler running for office in Kansas City says he refuses to back down and will continue his campaign despite homophobic slurs being tagged on his campaign posters.
Justice Horn – an openly gay former NCAA wrestler turned Kansas City politician, is running for a seat on the Jackson County Legislature.
With his campaign in full swing, Harn soon discovered that he had become the target of homophobia, with many of his campaign signs being tagged with the word “Fagot” across his photo.
Horn, who says he was hurt to discover that individuals had used homophobic slurs to vandalise his campaign signs, ads that he will continue to hold his head high despite the bigotry he is facing.
“I’ll admit, this one hurt because, like so many of us who experience this, this word is used to harm us,” he explained via Twitter.
“Either way, I’m not going to back down, and I’m holding my head high.”
Today I learned that my campaign banner was defaced with a homophobic slur here in Kansas City.
I’ll admit, this one hurt because like so many us of who experience this, this word is used to harm us. Either way, I’m not going to back down and I’m going to hold my head high. pic.twitter.com/6geqENOFro
— Justice Horn (@JusticeHorn_) July 3, 2022
“I don’t know how much more blatantly that this was a hate crime,” Horn added to The Kansas City Star.
“It’s a big eye-opener to what it’s like running openly as a queer person. This stuff is hard, and we’re gonna face push back from folks who don’t change,” he added.
In response to the vandalism, Horn decided to hold a press conference on Tuesday the 5th of July at one of the vandalised banners, inviting the community, “especially LGBTQ+ folks,” to come out and stand against this hate.
However, before the press conference, Horn discovered that his banner was “ripped off and stolen,” saying via Twitter, “This isn’t Kansas City, and we’re going to prove whoever did this wrong!”
This Tuesday, July 5th at 9 AM, I plan to have a press conference at the sight of the defaced banner at 4644 Campbell St. Kansas City, MO 64110 to address any concerns or questions.
I invite the community, especially LGBTQ+ folks to come out and stand with me against this hate. pic.twitter.com/zqUyvUapr5
— Justice Horn (@JusticeHorn_) July 3, 2022
Perhaps drawing inspiration from his wrestling days, Horn has continued to stand his ground, saying, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not backing down.”
“This morning, I laid in bed not wanting to get out because of what happened yesterday, but you all empowered me to get back in the fight with your comments, messages, and support,” he wrote on Twitter.
