Pride Lifeguard Tower Burned Down In An Act Of Anti-LGBT+ Hate

An LGBT+ Pride lifeguard tower in Long Beach, CA has been burned down in a suspected act of hate. The tower, which was painted last year in honour of Pride Month, was found engulfed in flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning. 

Taking to Twitter the Long Beach Fire Department released a statement regarding the incident. 

“[On Tuesday morning] fire resources responded to the Pride Lifeguard Tower full engulfed,” the organisation tweeted. 

“LGBTQ members of the Marine Safety division painted the tower during Pride month last year. The tower served as a symbol of our strong support for diversity within our ranks & community.” 

As ‘Gay Times’ report, Mayor of Long Beach, Robert Garcia, expressed his sadness with the fire stating he has “little doubt this was an act of hate.”

“To whoever committed this act we will rebuild it better and brighter.” Garcia tweeted. 

The burning of the lifeguard stand would be the first time for the city in 70 years.  Lifeguard Jeremy Rocha spoke with CBS News about feeling heartbroken about the tower being vandalised. 

“I cried, I was pretty emotional with what happened. I just couldn’t really fathom the fact that it had burned down,” he stated. 

A new tower is expected to be delivered over the next 4 to 6 weeks and will be repainted in Pride colours by the city’s lifeguards. 

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