Justice Horn is an openly gay activist. He’s also a former NCAA wrestler. Horn is running for a seat on the Jackson County, Missouri, Legislature from the Kansas City area. However, in order to win the seat, he must face severe adversity.
While his bravery is admirable, many aren’t so fond of Horn, especially, his sexual orientation. Recently, his campaign banner got vandalized with a homophobic slur.
“This happened in midtown Kansas City, here in in Kansas City, Missouri,” Horn said to Outsports.
“My first reaction is one of shock, anger and energy to prove whoever defaced the banner wrong. It’s lit a fire in me to ensure that our community finally has a seat at the table.”
Despite that, he won’t back down from the campaign. He also added that this instead made him more determined to continue holding his “head up high”.
He said that he “learned that my campaign banner was defaced with a homophobic slur” in a tweet on Monday.
“I’ll admit, this one hurt because like so many of us who experience this, this word is used to harm us,” he said.
“Either way, I’m not going to back down and I’m holding my head high.”
He then planned to hold a press conference regarding the incident on Tuesday on the site of the defaced banner. However, he learned earlier that day that the banner was ripped off and stolen.
Reacting to that, he stated that he won’t back down despite the condition.
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not backing down,” he said.
He later attended a “We Are Not Free” march, claiming that his supporters empowered him to continue the struggle.
“This morning, I laid in bed not wanting to get out because of what happened yesterday, but you all empowered me to get back in the fight with your comments, messages, and support,” he wrote.
To Kansas City Star, Horn also added: “It’s a big eye-opener to what it’s like running openly as a queer person. This stuff is hard and we’re gonna face push back from folks who don’t change.”