Marshall sheriff's official Web site airs anti-gay stance
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
THOMAS SPENCER
News staff writer
Anniston native Don Hunter couldn't believe what he was reading on Marshall County Sheriff Mac Holcomb's Web site.
In a letter to the community, Holcomb praises the values of the 1940s and 1950s, when "Men were men and women were women and there was no mistaking which was which. ... Homosexuality was very queer and a despicable act ... an abomination."
Hunter, a deputy county administrator for Marin County, Calif., was combing the county Web site looking for services that might benefit his elderly mother, who lives in Marshall County, when he came across the letter.
"It is shocking. The very idea that an elected official would have this on his Web page," Hunter said.
Holcomb's letter asks citizens' help and pledges to devote all his energy "to return our society to the values that we once held dear," things such as prayer in schools, inmates in black and white striped uniforms cleaning the roadways, and TV free of nudity and profanity.
It seemed to Hunter a little beyond the bounds of a sheriff. Particularly disturbing to Hunter, who is gay, was the county's chief law enforcement official pledging to lead the community against homosexuality.
"While I would agree with you that we have lost many wonderful things from the 1950s," Hunter wrote to the sheriff, "homophobia, racism, and sexism are not part of the wonderful things. They are ugly now, they were ugly then, and surely they would be ugly in the eyes of Jesus Christ, who taught only love and compassion, never hatred."
Whatever his views on social issues, Holcomb says no one has accused him of uneven application of the laws.
Holcomb said his message has been posted in his office lobby since he took office in 1995 and he won't be taking it down despite its now international reach. "I campaigned for family values and that is where I stand," Holcomb said. "I want the people in Canada to know how I feel."
Grassroots viewpoint:
According to Holcomb, the Bible condemns homosexuality, and political leaders need to be reminded of that. "I think the government begins at the grassroots. Certainly our president is in accord with me. Our elected officials stand with me."
Marshall County Commission Chairman Billy Cannon said the county pays for the Web site but has no control of the Sheriff's Department. Short of a court order, Cannon doubts he has the authority to take the message down.
"He is a (former Judge) Roy Moore clone. Take Rush Limbaugh, Roy Moore and Bufford Pusser and roll them together and you get Mac," Cannon said. "I regret that he has put that up there. I totally believe that someone's sexual preference is their business and not mine. He needs to step down from his soapbox just a little bit.
"But," Cannon said, "you have got to take the good with the bad. In terms of getting the job, Mac is second to none."
The former Marine is tough on prisoners, including making them fall out for morning reveille, Cannon said. His office is covered with pictures of Pusser, the famous Tennessee sheriff depicted in the movie "Walking Tall." The "hold" music on the office phone is Holcomb singing his own rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues." Elvis is heard singing "Jailhouse Rock."
More to the county:
Holcomb, 61, is particularly tough in spousal abuse cases, and he checks security at the churches every night, Cannon said. At Christmas, he collected enough toys to furnish Christmas to 200 families.
Still, Cannon said, the negative tone of Holcomb's letter "does not reflect this county." More reflective is the county's senior program, Cannon said. He is particularly proud of serving 350 seniors in the Meals on Wheels program. The county delivers library books to those who can't get out, and distributed $1.3 million in prescription drugs solicited from drug companies, Cannon said.
He also said he hoped Hunter would contact him.
Hunter, for his part, was hard hit by the sheriff's message since he'd just spent three weeks in the Arab area, in Marshall County. "It was a wonderful experience. I made a lot of friends. It renewed my connection to the South, and it reminded me how friendly and kind people are. I came away feeling upbeat."
Hunter said he's nostalgic for the good old days, too, when people could leave their doors unlock and still feel safe. But he said he doesn't understand why Holcomb is nostalgic for the days when gays, like blacks, were discriminated against and reviled.
"He seems to have a very warped sense of the good old days," Hunter said.
