A Tennessee Tragedy

By Patrick Appel
A reader writes:

I am surprised that there is no mention on your blog of the Unitarian Universalist church shooting in Tennessee, especially since it has now been established that the gunman choose this church in part because of their welcoming policy towards GLBT persons (they recently put a sign up outside their church specifically marking themselves as a welcoming congregation for the GLBT community).  The church also sponsors a cafe night/safe space for GLBT teenagers and their straight allies that is open to all.  As a Unitarian Universalist in Tennessee myself, I am sickened over this shocking violence towards such a peace-loving group of people whose only crime was opening their doors to those who are shunned at other churches.