Gay student gets "new" car after vandalism
Jordan Addison reacts upon seeing his car Aug. 20, 2012, in Roanoke, Va., after an auto body shop repaired and improved it for free. / WDBJ-TV
(CBS News) ROANOKE, Va. - A college student has a "new" car. It's all thanks to a Roanoke auto shop, CBS affiliate WDBJ-TV reports.
Jordan Addison is a student at Radford University. Between March and May of this year his car was vandalized four times, once at his home and three times on-campus.
"The first time there were some homophobic slurs keyed into the side of it," said Addison. "Then the second time I had 'die' keyed into it."
Addison believes he was targeted because he's gay. The homophobic slur was written across one side of his car, and he tried to everything to cover it but nothing worked.
"The lowest estimate I got just to fix the damage to the doors was like $2,500, and for a college student that's a lot of money," Addison said.
Richard Henegar Jr. heard what happened to Addison.
"Once I saw the vandalism that was done to it I said, 'That's uncalled for. We're gonna fix your car. That's the least we can do,'" Henegar said.
He's the manager at Quality Auto Paint and Body in Roanoke, and the shop decided to help Addison out for free.
Henegar estimates the shop spent 100 hours in the last two weeks working on the car. There are new tires, a new paint job, tinted windows, a new security system and a new stereo. The total cost was well over $10,000.
The new and improved car was unveiled to Addison on Monday. He was speechless.
"It looks great," said Addison. "It hasn't looked that great the entire time I've had it."
"We were glad to see he was pleased with it," Henegar said.
Henegar said 10 other businesses helped out.
"We can't afford to do this ourselves," said Henegar. "We might have all the good intentions in the world, but I can't finance something like this ourselves."
Those businesses include Parts Unlimited, Advance Auto Parts, Moon's Auto Body, Rice Toyota, Val's Automotive, The Rod Shop, B&C Exterminating, Twists & Turns, AJ's Landscaping and Sunnybrook Auto Spa.
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Some day the legislatures in the Southern States will catch up to the idea that although Southern Baptist theology lists homosexuality as a sin, gay people should still have all the same civil rights as anybody else. This goes along with Biblical ideas of loving the sinner.
Right now it is obvious that gay people need protections against hate crimes, job discrimination, housing, accommodation, and need to be taxed the same way as heterosexual people.
The Southern States economies will also benefit when talented gay people no longer flee the South for the same reasons African-Americans did when they were treated as second-class people.
BK
Damn, you people are brutal!
You take hate mongering to new levels!
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No you did...instead of focusing on the good as offered demonstrated..to lowering yourshelf to the sewer as example and turned this good act made the auto company into something remotely stupid.. this was about a good deal..not what you thought about homosexuals..get a clue..