'Gay Nativity' Vandalized in California

Police have launched a hate crime investigation into vandalism of a "gay nativity" scene outside a California church. The scene at Claremont United Methodist Church featured three wooden light boxes portraying a heterosexual and two homosexual couples holding hands beneath a Star of Bethlehem and the words: "Christ is Born." The gay couples were pushed over, reports the Los Angeles Times. The church has a history of featuring social or political messages in its nativity scenes, but they have never before been vandalized. "Christ's birth in a stable had a lot to do with being marginalized," said the church pastor. "What this church has tried to do through these scenes is say, 'What would that look like today?'" (More California stories.)