Last October, two guys in West Hollywood hoisted an effigy of then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on their roof, a Halloween decoration that made national news because 1) Palin was shown in a noose, and 2) one of the West Hollywood guys had the first name ChadMichael and all the media outlets managed to spell his name wrong.
Well, it’s nearly Halloween again. And two weeks ago, ChadMichael Morrisette and Mito Aviles, who still live at the house on Fountain and Orange, decorated their roof. “The whole theme is the forces of evil of 2009,” according to Morrisette. Actually, the theme is the fight for gay marriage. On the left: Maggie Gallagher, head of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy; on the right (hanging from the roof), a bloodied and mangled Carrie Prejean aka Miss California.
More about what’s on the roof this year, according to the pair, who work in the window display business: As noted, there’s a mannequin with a photo of Gallager, President of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, an organization that opposes gay marriage. She’s also has the word liar written on her stomach. “The reason that she is naked is that we are exposing her lies,” says Morrissette, who calls her a hypocrite for statements he says that she made about educating children about gay marriage.
Glinda, the good witch, is also on the roof, standing next to a Mormon missionary (he's stuck in a chimney and on fire). Glinda is there to counteract all the evil of the rest of the characters....including Carrie Prejean, the Miss USA 2009 contestant. She's the gal who said she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman--and she's shown chopped in half and bloodied.
Prejean is a "victim of Gallagher's," according to Morrissette, because he says her image has been used by the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy. Still, Morrissette said he “doesn’t know how entrenched” Prejean is with Gallagher's group.
Last year, the Palin decoration didn’t receive much attention until three weeks after it went up. You’ll recall that some neighbors supported the Palin effigy, some people didn’t care, and some people were so embarrassed that they hung sheets in front of house in an attempt to shield the Palin image from passing cars. And then finally, the guys took the mannequin down.
So far, no neighbors have complained this year. ‘Some people have come by, laughed, and taken photos,” said Aviles.
Politics aside, it's a little unsettling to see naked, bloody, and violent images of women. At least that's our opinion -- and what we told Morrisette this morning. His reply: "Well, it's Halloween."
Pictured: ChadMichael Morrisette and Mito Aviles
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