F.L. “Bubba” Copeland — mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama and pastor of First Baptist Church in Phenix City — was found dead on Friday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being involuntarily outed as a transgender woman by a local conservative news blog.
According to The Advocate, using information sourced by WRBL, "deputies responded to a request for a welfare check on Copeland, spotting them driving their truck on a county road near their grocery store. Upon attempting to pull Copeland over, they stopped, exited their truck, and fatally shot themself."
Copeland had been struggling after Alabama news blog 1819 News reported on Wednesday that they "had been engaging in explicit online activities, allegedly posting pornography, memes, and photos of themself in women’s clothing online under the pseudonym 'Brittini Blaire Summerlin,' per The Advocate's coverage, adding that the news blog "shared screenshots from Copeland’s now-deleted Instagram and Reddit accounts, where they openly explored their transgender identity."
One of Copeland’s friends, former Phenix City School Superintendent Larry DiChiara, commented on the tragedy via a statement to Facebook, writing, “Are you happy now? What crime did [they] commit? Some of you people make me sick. I hope you are really proud.”
reddogisdumb on November 5th, 2023 at 00:17 UTC »
I feel terrible for what happened to this man and his family.
Since this is r/politics, its worth pointing out that this is what LGBQT rights is all about. Removing stigma, and lowering suicide rates.
I used to joke about transpeople. My wife did too. Not in public, but still, we made jokes.
We stopped those jokes when a trans classmate of my son committed suicide. I'm ashamed of the jokes we used to make. These people are humans, they are each one a miracle, and they deserve dignity and respect.
I won't consider voting Republican for about 10 different reasons. LGBQT rights is one.
blackrabbitsrun on November 5th, 2023 at 00:11 UTC »
Conservatives continue to prove they're walking mounds of shit.
Hunter-Gatherer_ on November 4th, 2023 at 23:32 UTC »
The sad reality is the people that mocked him are probably really happy about it. Some of the people in the south can be the most hateful people you’ve ever seen.