Amid an uproar over a West Hollywood resident’s Halloween inspired hanging of
Sarah Palin in effigy on his lawn, the city’s Mayor
Jeffrey Prang has strongly admonished the act.
"While these residents have the legal right to display Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin in effigy, I strongly oppose political speech that references violence -- real or perceived,” Prang said in a statement.
The effigy, which has caught the attention of the local news, kicking off news casts, and even becoming a singular political hot topic on which all of The View co-hosts could agree over the display’s offensiveness, is a perfectly legal act.
Sporting Palin’s signature red suit, glasses and an up-do the effigy hangs high from the West Hollywood residence, while a John McCain mock-up sits in the chimney surrounded by flames, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While some West Hollywood residents called the effigy a hate crime, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said the effigy is not considered a hate crime since it’s part of a larger Halloween display.
"I'm not defending this; I'm not criticizing it. It doesn't rise to the level of hate crime," said the spokesman Steve Whitmore, according to the LA Times. "Now, if there was a crime against bad taste... "
