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Iowa Couple Plans 1,000 Antigay Billboards

Iowa Couple Plans 1,000 Antigay Billboards

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Betty and Dick Odgaard, former owners of an antigay wedding venue, have already unveiled their first sign in Oklahoma. They plan on raising money to post more.

Nbroverman

After being told they could no longer discriminate against same-sex couples, the owners of Iowa's Gortz Haus Gallery -- which features a restaurant, flower shop, and wedding venue -- took action. First, Betty and Dick Odgaard stopped offering all weddings so they could avoid marrying same-sex couples (the couple was defended by none other than presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who misrepresented their supposed plight). Then, when their business tanked following a lawsuit by a same-sex couple, they launched a ministry to push their antigay mission.

The Odgaards began God's Original Design Ministry as a 501(c)3 organization, meaning it's exempt from taxes. The ministry aims to defend "traditional" marriage and plans to place 1,000 similar signs across the nation.

The first billboard, which is 14 feet by 48 feet, went up recently in Durant, Okla. It quotes God as saying marriage is between one man and one woman.

"The primary objective [of] our mission with these billboards is to spark 'drive-time epiphanies,'" Betty Odgaard told The Blaze. "In other words, to remind the faithful of the truth."

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Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.