An Alabama mayor tragically took his own life days after a conservative outlet published photos of him wearing women's clothing. Bubba Copeland was also a pastor and the mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama. Now, Craig Munger is the fear monger in question here, who wrote in 1819 news. [00:00:20] That's the conservative publication. Smiths station's mayor operated social media accounts as a transgender woman under the pseudonym Brittany Blair Summerlin. Craig Munger interviewed Copeland, who said that the posts were [00:00:35] ways of getting rid of stress. Now, after the interview, Copeland promptly deleted the accounts and asked them not to be made public due to his family and his position as a pastor. But of course, the publication made those images public anyway. [00:00:51] And out of respect for Bubba Copeland and his family, we are not going to show you those images and we are not going to do anything that would, you know, uplift the disgusting reporting here that took place because there was really [00:01:08] no public interest in reporting this. Okay? Bubba Copeland was not some bigot who went around judging the lifestyles of others. He wasn't someone who wanted to pass legislation against transgender people. That wasn't who he was. So you can't use that cover to justify what this publication did. [00:01:27] And it's a right wing publication whose editor in chief used to work over at Breitbart. This is a publication that Steve Bannon once called fantastic. Now, after 1819 published the photos, Bubba Copeland addressed the church about it. We've got that video. Let's watch. [00:01:43] Yes, I have taken pictures with my wife in the privacy of our home and attempted humor because I know I'm not a handsome man, nor a beautiful woman either. I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private. Personal life that has come publicly. [00:01:59] - This will not cause my life to change. - This will not waver. My devotion to my family, to serving my city, and to serving my church. - I'm thankful for the grace of God. - And the willingness to forgive. [00:02:19] I have nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of things that were said. Were taken out of context. In conclusion, I love my family. They're number one. And again, I'm sorry for. [00:02:36] What my actions have caused. And I'm thankful for the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that have reached out to me today in love. And I know that there are others that have not. - But just know I love you and. - Jesus loves you as well. [00:02:53] Apparently that wasn't good enough for some Baptist leaders in the area. Baptist leaders in Alabama issued a statement saying they had become aware of the alleged unbiblical behavior. And then on Friday evening, police said they received a request for a welfare [00:03:09] check on the married father of three. After locating him, a slow pursuit was initiated with the mayor's vehicle. Eventually, Copeland pulled over. He exited the vehicle, produced a handgun and took his own life, the sheriff's office stated. Jake. Okay, there are really bad guys in the world, [00:03:26] so I wonder if Craig Munger's proud. Are you proud that you caused this guy to kill himself? Why did you do this story? He's not a hypocrite. It doesn't affect his political life at all. Oh, I think you think that it does affect his political life because you think, oh, if somebody's transgender, cross-dresser or whatever it might be, [00:03:44] you judge them, right? You think that's immoral based on your idiotic, idiotic so-called values? Oh, you think it's immoral to shame people for what they do in private and what's their business and doesn't hurt anyone else? Yeah, that's because you're a terrible person. [00:04:00] You should be ashamed. So that's the guy who, quote unquote, broke this story. Congratulations. And then. But I don't want to let the the one of the main culprits off the hook here, the Baptist leaders. So the Baptist leaders see this and think we should shame him further. [00:04:20] How dare he. By the way, the Bible in that one verse says, man shall not lie with a man doesn't say anything about dressing this way or that way. Jesus arguably wore a dress. You've all seen the pictures. The white long dress that Jesus wears. [00:04:37] So are they going to stone him to death, too? I mean, has anybody ever read the Bible? So you read that one part in Leviticus, by the way, right next to the part that says, don't eat shellfish. It's an abomination. Are you going around trying to get everybody who ate shrimp or lobster [00:04:53] to kill themselves and outing them and shaming them? Of course not. Do you care about what the Bible actually says? Of course not. Do you care that the Bible said, hey, let those of you without sin cast the first stone? That Jesus said that? Of course not. [00:05:08] You just want to cast the first stone, the 18th stone. You want to judge people as if you're better than them. You're not better than them. Every Baptist leader that signed that letter is deeply immoral, terrible human beings helping to take that poor man's life. [00:05:25] So look, can people apparently. Is cross-dressing something so unnatural? Oh my God, it's terrible. God doesn't want it. Only bad people do it. No good people. Really. Bubba Copeland, Bubba Copeland, mayor in Alabama. [00:05:42] You know why? Because it's random. It's genetic. You're born with this or you're born with that different proclivities. It doesn't have anything to do with morality. It doesn't have anything to do with who you are, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, or whether you live in Alabama or San Francisco. [00:05:59] It's just human beings being who they are. But yes, unfortunately, fundamentalist religious people in this country and a lot of the right wing think we should hate them. We should hate them for who they are. All right, well, then, that's who you are. [00:06:15] You're the people who celebrate hatred, and you don't want us to be human beings and fully express ourselves and whatever God created us. As you say, God was wrong. God should not have created you that way. What if you ask me? [00:06:31] The one thing that God aired on was how full of hate he has made these so-called religious leaders all over the world, including here in America. Those evangelical right wing leaders are some of the most hateful people [00:06:48] I have ever seen. So this guy even explained that he's he was engaging in these activities with his wife. What else do you want? No judgment. Judgment, judgment. Anybody judges you for irrational things like this. [00:07:04] You hurt other people. That's fine. That's you there. You can have judgment. The Lord can judge. Human beings can judge you. Don't hurt anyone else. You're doing whatever you think is right based on who you are. And somebody comes to judge you. Tell them to f off. [00:07:19] Just kick them out of your house, kick him out of your community, kick him out of your church. Say no. I'm not interested in your judgment. I'm not interested in your hatred. Jesus wasn't about hatred. He was about love. Go read the Bible. And every Baptist leader that signed that letter should be fired immediately. [00:07:36] And of course, they're not. They're going to be celebrated. Oh, they were the best haters in America. They got someone to commit suicide because he was a cross-dresser. Oh, I bet they're celebrating now. Are you guys drinking some wine over it? Having a nice steak over the fact that you got that poor man to kill himself. [00:07:53] So disgusting. I just wanted to jump in because in the same speech that he gave before the church, he also made sure to mention members of the community who reached out to him to show him support and love. And so we're talking about a small town in Alabama. [00:08:10] I'm kind of guessing here, but I don't think it's crazy to say that they're probably, you know, Republican voters, conservatives. So when you say fundamentalists who think this way, I think it's really important to emphasize that, because even among Republican voters, there are people [00:08:25] who are far more accepting and far less. Ashes. Then what was published about this man in this right wing publication? I just wish that those people, what they said to him and the support that they gave to him, was that it spoke to him enough to persuade him against taking his own life. [00:08:46] It's such an incredibly tragic story. But yeah, I agree with you, Jake. I mean, this is the kind of reporting that really helps no one. There is no public interest in sharing this kind of news. But of course they did it anyway. It's too juicy for them not to. [00:09:01] Yeah, but okay, so first of all, all the people in Alabama that were decent to Bubba Copeland and his family, thank you. Thank you for being moral, decent people and not buying into this hysteria. But why do you think Bubba Copeland took his life? Because it's perfectly normal in Alabama. No, perfectly normal in the Christian fundamentalist community? [00:09:19] No. He took his life because he was shamed. In that community overall, not all of them, but unfortunately way too many of them. They think, oh good, an opportunity. Someone is a little different. [00:09:35] We get to judge. Be honest. Now remember, Anna's not wrong. Two thirds of Americans are in favor of all equality and rights for transgender folks. Not just gay people, but for transgender people. [00:09:52] So most the overwhelming majority of the country and a lot of Republicans are on that side. If you're on that side, the side of decency or morality, speak up. Because if you're in the Republican Party, we can't hear you. All we hear is the monsters that are representing you, whether it's [00:10:08] fundamentalist religious leaders or right wing media filled with hatred, or right wing politicians filled with hatred. So speak up and take over your party. Otherwise this is these are the guys who are representing you. The fact that they've kidnaped Christianity, taken it hostage [00:10:26] and are now driving it as a vehicle for almost only hatred is should be deeply troubling to all good Christians.