Alabama Mayor, Pastor Dies by Suicide After Being Involuntarily Outed as Transgender Woman
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A small-town Alabama mayor died apparently by suicide just days after a conservative news site published pictures of him allegedly wearing women's clothes and makeup, officials said Sunday.
Smiths Station Mayor F.L. "Bubba" Copeland, who was also a pastor at First Baptist Church of Phenix City, fatally shot himself and was pronounced dead at 5:01 p.m. CT Friday, Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton told NBC News in a statement.
An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.
"Thank you all for your prayers and expressions of sympathy and support," First Baptist Church said in a statement Saturday. "First and foremost, we ask that you keep Pastor Bubba Copeland’s family in your prayers today, and in the days ahead."
Copeland died two days after the 1819 News published a story with photos of the mayor donning women’s clothes and makeup.
"It is sad and disgusting how he was treated by" 1819 News, former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., said in a statement Saturday. "We live in a mean, bitter world where the self righteous tend to throw the largest stones."
A representative for 1819 News could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
Copeland was best known for leading his town through a tornado that killed 23 people in eastern Alabama in 2019.
"I am so saddened at the death of my friend Mayor Bubba Copeland," Jones said. "He was a good man and a great mayor who led the small town of Smith Station through the tough times of a devastating tornado a few years ago."
Then-President Donald Trump visited damaged communities, and Jones said Copeland played a vital role in communicating the region's needs to the White House.
"I toured the destruction with him, helped him navigate the FEMA recovery efforts and made sure that he was able to plead his case directly to President Trump," Jones said.
The city of Smiths Station, about 80 miles east of Montgomery, Alabama’s capital, near the Georgia border, has a population of about 5,400 people.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
My Note: Thank Velma for the heads up on this tragic story.
I often frequent the Translater subreddit on Reddit, which is a community primarily focused on older transgender individuals, especially transgender women. Within this community, She was a regular member named Brittani. Unfortunately, her photos were maliciously shared elsewhere with the intent to harm her. These individuals went so far as to criticize her for what they deemed as "unbiblical behavior," which was nothing but a blatant act of hate meant to inflict pain and destruction. It's essential for us to remember the biblical admonition to remove the plank from our own eye before attempting to remove the speck from our neighbor's, and to reflect upon our own actions and biases. Such behavior by those who engage in hate is both hypocritical and deeply troubling. Paula G
ReplyDeleteAmen
DeleteSo he was a x-dressing baptist preacher republicant. A preacher and a republicant ... a two-fer. To bad he was self-loathing because of religion but the republicant part is what really makes it so hard to understand. I cannot for the life of me understand how any Black, Brown, Mexican, LGBTQ, etc. or not in the top 1% could ever vote for a republicant, much less become one!
DeleteSo sad. But thanks for sharing. -J
ReplyDeleteSo sad. People need to mind their own business. Who cares what people wear or do on their personal time. Sounded like a very nice person who cared about others. I would much rather have that then some testosterone charged maniac steering the ship. A lot more things in life to be concerned over than how this person lived.wearing women’s clothing....haha... big crime..hahaha. They say 5% of men wear women’s panties everyday. They need to drop their pants and come clean!..haha. Big names I bet..
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