NC man films himself firing shotgun at pro-LGBT rights sign

Video of a North Carolina man firing a shotgun at a sign against the state's proposed amendment banning same sex marriage has gone viral, even after he removed it from YouTube.

"Right now there is this amendment trying to be passed, Amendment One, and it's going to state that marriage is between one man and one woman, which is how it ought to be," the man who identifies himself as Alex Wiles opines in the video.

"So, somebody decided it would be a good idea to put this sign near my house," he continues as he puts on a pair of amber shooting glasses. "They ought to know not to put stuff like that near my house."

With that, Wiles pumps a shell into what appears to be a 12-guage pump-action shotgun, takes aim and unloads two rounds into the yard sign.

"That's how we do it 'round here," he explains with a grin. "That's all folks."

Gawker's Louis Peitzman snarked that the video amounted to "brilliant political commentary from a trigger-happy asshole with a YouTube account."

"Hey, if you can't shoot gay people directly, might as well shoot signs supporting LGBT rights," Peitzman wrote.

The blog Joe My God, which first flagged the video, reported that the police department in Kannopolis, North Carolina said they would classify the incident as a crime "if the shotgun was fired onto property that includes a home or business."

Although Wiles has deleted the video from his YouTube account, other copies remain available online.

North Carolinians go to the polls on May 8 to decided if the existing ban on marriage equality is enshrined in the state's Constitution. Early voting began on April 19. Recent polls indicate that the amendment is likely to pass.

Watch this video from Alex Wiles, uploaded April 30, 2012.

(h/t: The Huffington Post)