Lesbian Arson Victim Speaks About Vicious Hate Crime

In September 2010, Carol Ann and Laura Stutte returned home from an anniversary weekend to find that their Tennessee home had been torched to the ground, with the word "QUEERS" spray-painted in big, black letters on the side of an adjacent garage. It was the type of hate crime that should pain anyone's heart to see, yet months later, no one has been held accountable for the crime, and the couple's insurance company -- American National Property and Casualty -- has yet to pay the couple's claim.

Talk about injustice in every sense of the word. Tens of thousands of people have joined an online campaign from GetEqual, calling on American National Property and Casualty to deal with the Stutte's claim. Indeed, since their house burned down, the Stuttes have been forced to (a) continuing making their mortgage payment, (b) pay rent on emergency housing, and (c) pay the insurance for their burned down property. That's in addition to all the other living expenses they incur, from having to buy new clothes and furniture and kitchen supplies and beyond. Yet despite all of those things, American National Property and Casualty has practically been mute on honoring the insurance policy.

Late last week, GetEqual sat down with Carol Ann Stutte and spoke with her about the hate crime Carol and Laura experienced in September. It's very emotional, and at the end you'll definitely be left wanting to help achieve justice for the Stutte family.

The video is below, and well worth watching in full. Two of the more emotional spots come when GetEqual asks Carol Ann about the homophobic taunts and harassment they received from a neighbor. As Metro Pulse reported last month, the next-door neighbor of the Stuttes made repeated threats and alluded to taking violent action against the couple. One time the neighbor made a reference to burying bodies in the hills near their house, and in another instance suggested that she would poison the dogs that Carol Ann and Laura were raising. (Indeed, one of the dogs eventually died from poisoning.)

But one threat in particular got to Carol Ann and Laura.

"The major one that finally got to us -- there were many that we overlooked -- but the one that really got to us was one of the last ones, which is when she came out and told Laura and I both, 'What's better than one dead queer? Two dead queers,' and just started laughing and laughing," Carol Ann remembers.

Pretty chilling. But though a lot has happened to Carol Ann and Laura over the past six months, it's remarkable to see how joyful Carol Ann is in this video, especially when talking about the outpouring of support they've received from both their own community in Tennessee, and tens of thousands of people around the world online.

"Laura and I when we would see the emails, the posts on Facebook, and as we would see the numbers rise on the petition, it was like, each time that happened, it was like Christmas tree lights that gave us more and more hope that we weren't alone anymore," Carol Ann says.

*swoon* This is a remarkable woman, and a remarkable couple. If you haven't yet lent your name to this campaign calling on American National Property and Casualty to pay this insurance claim, please do so. No insurance company should be silent in the face of an arson, let alone one this vicious, hateful, and homophobic.

Photo credit: YouTube