Activist Felipe Gutierrez is urging LGBTQ people and allies not to shop at W Durable Goods in Fort Worth after the owner’s wife shared an outrageously homophobic post on Facebook this week.

UPDATE: Felipe Gutierrez and six others are hosting “Reclaiming the Public Square,” an event to “Take out the trash with Equality Texas as we denounce the hateful words of local retailer W Durable Goods after their recent display of racism and homophobia,” from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 20, at Tommy’s Hamburger Grill and Patio, 2455 Forrest Park Blvd. in Fort Worth. LGBTQ people and allies are invited to donate any products they purchased from W Durable Goods “to be repurposed and sold, with 100 percent of proceeds going to support LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. See the Facebook event page for more information.

LGBTQ activists and allies in Fort Worth are calling for a boycott of the company W Durable Goods after the owner’s wife shared a post onFacebook calling homosexuality “a sin” unlike any other.

W Durable Goods, opened in 2012 by former electrician Daniel Wright and his wife, sells hand-crafted leather goods and other items. The shop is located at 108 South Freeway in Fort Worth, in the Near Southside Villages.

Stephanie Wright shared the offending post, which appears to have been originally posted by Jason Stidham on Thursday morning, June 13, on Tuesday night. It read:

“Homosexuality is NOT like any other sin. Mo other sin seeks to be so normalized in the public square. No other sin seeks to be a protected c lass by law. No other sin seeks to rewrite education and rewire our children. No other sin claims to love so much, yet manifests such hate toward anyone who dare stand against it. I have seen no thief, no murderer, no rapist, no adulterer, no liar, no addict, etc…militantly propagating and promoting their deviance in every avenue of life. No other sin has its own flag and its own month (June). No, this sin is different. This sin seeks to divide and conquer. This sin seeks to silence all those who would oppose. This sin is the biggest bully on the block. The only cure ….Jesus.”

Felipe Gutierrez, president of Tarrant County Stonewall Democrats, shared a screen-cap of Stephanie Wright’s post Tuesday night, June 16, saying, “This time the homophobia hits home. I’m a longtime customer of W Durable Goods. I reached out to [owner] Daniel Wright via Instagram. His response, ‘That’s fine, as long as everyone acts respectful.’”

Gutierrez continued, “You see, you don’t get to be straight, white, privileged, and demand respect. You earn respect. He thinks this is a ‘belief.’ Well it’s not. It’s who I am.

“And you, are homophobic, disrespectful to a community that has embraced your business and family. You compare us to ‘thieves, murderers, rapists, adulterers, liars and addicts,’” he added. “What that really says about you — is that you are a homophobic, bigot, racist, and privileged. The hidden meaning in your posts are now TOO clear to me. They falsely wrap their bigotry in religion and disrespect those of genuine faith.

“I will NOT sit down and I will NOT shut up. You have failed to earn our business and you do not deserve our respect.”

Gutierrez announced that he is collecting all of his own items purchased from W Durable Good and plans to resale them and donate the money to LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S, a Fort Worth organization serving LGBTQ youth.

Comments from Fort Worth’s LGBTQ community and its allies began piling up quickly on Gutierrez’s post. “Screw them! We see their true colors … .” one commenter said, and others agreed. As of 2 p.m. today, Gutierrez’s post had been shared more than 90 times, and had garnered more than 250 outraged comments. Those sharing the post and calling for the community to boycott W Durable Goods include Sharon Herrera with LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. youth organization, trans activist and former Texas House candidate Finn Jones, former Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns and his husband, political strategist J.D. Angle, and numerous others.

Near Southside, which has supported the Black Lives Matter movement, on Tuesday also posted a statement on Facebook supporting LGBTQ equality. The statement says:

“Yesterday [Monday, June 15] was a landmark day of celebration for ensuring the protection of our LGBTQ friends and neighbors and family members from discrimination. Our nation and our city have come so far, and we’re proud that the Near Southside has been at the heart of that progress in Fort Worth for decades, home to so many LGBTQ civic leaders, organizations and spaces.
“That said, the social media discussion we’re seeing today indicates we still we have work to be done in bringing everyone along with that progress.
“As we felt strongly about the indisputable statement black lives matter, our NSI team feels just as strongly that our LGBTQ community should enjoy the same rights, quality of life and freedom from harassment and discrimination as anyone else. Those that feel otherwise are not demonstrating the values of our Near Southside community and do not represent the vision for this district this organization has been working toward for 25 years. We stand for inclusion, equity, and respect for everyone.”

— Tammye Nash