A woman who received two threatening letters on Wednesday for being in a same-sex relationship is revealed to be Queen’s University history professor Karen Dubinsky.

Dubinsky and her partner Susan Belyea say they received two letters that claimed affiliation with a Christian group based in the “Deep South,” which told the couple to move from Kingston or be subject to “deadly serious consequences.”

The letters were posted publicly on Facebook by HIV/AIDS Regional Services coordinator Deb Kinder.

The first letter stated that the group “know[s] [the couple] and have been following [them] for the past several weeks and [they] wish for [them] to leave this city before it’s too late, for [them].”

A second letter threatened the couple with BB guns, and read that younger members of the group are going to “target practice, in order to hunt [them] down.”

At a solidarity rally Friday afternoon, the couple released a public statement in response to the letters, which read that they ”appreciate the deluge of support and outrage and offers of assistance we have received from friends, family, acquaintances and strangers from all over.”

“Clearly this kind of hate has no place in our community and will not be tolerated,” the statement said.

Police are currently investigating the letters and have classified them as a “hate crime.”

For the full story, see the July 30 issue of the Journal