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Lesbians Harassed by Antigay Neighbors Paint House Rainbow

Rainbow House

The married Pennsylvanians say they have endured slurs like "homos" and "dykes" from their neighbors. 

Married lesbians in Pennsylvania who say they've endured years of homophobic slurs from their neighbors are fighting back by painting their house the colors of the rainbow, Pittsburgh TV station WTAE reports.

The women, Lisa Licata and Sherry Lau, who moved to their Penn Hills neighborhood five years ago, said that their neighbors Ron Makay and his wife, Iolanda Wieczorkowski, have repeatedly shouted "homos, dykes, and lesbians" at them. They allege that Makay shot their dog with a BB gun, which he has denied.

The women said they heard their neighbors use a homophobic slur shortly after they moved to the neighborhood, and so they pretended to be mother and daughter to avoid becoming a target. But once the neighbors found out they were actually a married couple, there has been a litany of slurs from Makay and Wieczorkowski, according to Licata and Lau.

To put some distance between themselves and the antigay neighbors, Licata and Lau erected a fence that they painted the colors of the rainbow flag. The fence allegedly set the neighbors off so much that they amped up the harassment. That's when the women decided to paint the side of their house that faces the neighbors in rainbow colors.

"When he protested against the fence being rainbow, that's when we decided, let's do the house," Licata told WTAE.

Now the women intend to paint the entire house in the colors of the rainbow.

"This is the 21st century," Lau said. "We live here. We're not moving. My family accepts us. Our friends accept us. If you don't like it, just live your life, leave us alone and everything's cool."

Per instructions from his attorney, Makay told WTAE that he had no comment.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.