The senior minister at the United Church of Christ, Rev. Eileen Gebbie - who is gay, said "It doesn't feel good. However, it's not going to slow us down. We won't change."
She told the
Des Moines Register that she's happy Martinez was found guilty, though she told
NBC that 16 years was excessive.
"
I often experienced Ames as not being as progressive as many people believe it is, and there still is a very large closeted ***** community here," Gebbie explained. "But 12 people that I don't know, who have no investment in me or this congregation, said this man committed a crime, and it was crime born of bigotry and hatred."
"Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are a serious matter as they inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and strike fear into the communities they target," Reyes told NBC News. "That said, true justice should always strive to be about rehabilitation, reconciliation, and healing communities. It is difficult to see how a 16-year prison sentence accomplishes any of those goals."
According to
NBC News, the director of gay advocacy group One Iowa, Courtney Reyes, thinks that the sentence is excessive, and says that while her organization appreciates how quickly the incident was handled, the sentence was excessive.
"Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are a serious matter as they inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and strike fear into the communities they target," Reyes told NBC News. "That said, true justice should always strive to be about rehabilitation, reconciliation, and healing communities.
It is difficult to see how a 16-year prison sentence accomplishes any of those goals."
More at:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/iowa-man-gets-16-years-burning-lgbt-flag