Gay Rights Activist's Home Burned Down and Pets Killed by Homophobic Arson
Lots to cover in this sad situation so please read the entire post before responding.
Joly, awarded Citizen of the Year, broke down in tears in an interview where he revealed that his pets died in that fire.
In the profile, Joly said that he was "really in shock for quite a while" after the fire. He teared at the thought of his dogs, who perished in the blaze, and organized a weapons training course at a gun range to fight fear....In the prior six months, he helped open the city’s first gay community center, organized the first gay festival and, after 18 years of failed attempts, helped lead a bruising battle for an ordinance that prohibits discrimination against gays.
For his efforts, a local paper named him the Citizen of the Year.
Five pets were killed in this fire.
Super sad.
No one was home as flames leaped from the house Joly shared with Moore. But the home wasn’t unoccupied.A neighbor, knowing the couple had pets, kicked in the front door but it was too hot to go inside, police said. When firefighters tried to open the back door, it was blocked by the body of a dog.
All five animals died: two German Shepherds and three cats.
Joly, and people close to Joly, declared war on the homophobic haters that set the house on fire. Started raising funds immediately:
Meanwhile donations rolled in for Joly and Moore.The church hoped to raise $10,000 but quickly sped past that amount. By the time St. Johns and other groups were done they had collected $58,000, they said.
In a Facebook post two days after the fire, Joly exhorted supporters not to respond to the blaze by threatening violence.
“Yes, be angry, be very angry,” he wrote. “Use that anger to force good! Use that anger to make change.”
Gasoline was found on Joly's clothes and the timeline puts Joly in the home during the only 5 minutes the fire could have been lit. Joly, earlier that day, purchased $10 in case and put it in the gas container. Joly has been arrested for killing his own pets and setting the fire. Motivations for the fire were frustration over activism dying down after getting the anti-discrimination law passed and lack of anti-LGBT protests at the Pride Parade he organized. People weren't mad enough for Joly's tastes.