The rural US town of Maiden in North Carolina has become the latest flashpoint in an often bitter national debate about gay rights.
Arguments from either side intensified after President Barack Obama earlier this month declared his support for gay marriage.
In rural America's so called, "Bible Belt", many pastors have been rhetorical and at times hateful in their condemnation.
A recent sermon posted online by a pastor, in which he outlines a plan to imprison homosexuals behind an electric fence and keep them there until they die, has gone viral.
Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett reports from Maiden.
