Vikki Parkey and Stephanie Trotter were surprised to find a homophobic note left in their mailbox last week, telling their family to move.
“We, the residents, are not happy with same-sex couples living in our area,” the note said. “Especially not when bringing up a child. It is immoral and wrong. We suggest you move to a more appropriate area of the City.”
The two women, who are married and raising a young daughter in Hull over in the UK, have lived in their current home for six years, and are active members of what neighbors describe as a close-knit community. They have no idea who would have sent the note.
“It was a total shock,” Parkey said. “I was furious, mad that somebody had the audacity to post something in the night.”
Fortunately, the surrounding neighbors feel the same way, and have been audacious in sharing their support for the family.
Several homes in the area have displayed rainbow flags or bunting from their windows, and one family filled all their windows with handwritten signs of support and affirmation.
“They are lovely, friendly girls and they have a beautiful baby,” neighbor Ruth Atkinson told the Hull Daily Mail. “That girl is so well looked after and she couldn’t ask for better parents.”
“They are some cowardly people out there but this has all thrown up back in their face now and no matter what, I will support those girls until the end,” Atkinson added.
But still, the anonymous directive has shaken the neighborhood, with one lesbian teenager sharing her concern that she’ll be the next to receive a note from whatever homophobe is prowling their streets.
“It’s just a waiting game, and I check every day, but I’m not so worried about getting a note because I don’t care what other people have to say about me,” she said.
