A lesbian couple from Minnesota have spoken out about receiving anonymous hate letters containing threats towards their daughter.

Angie and Jaime Mace, from St Peter, have launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to give as a reward to whoever helps them identify the sender of the letters, which contain extreme anti-LGBT language.

On the GoFundMe page, the couple wrote: “Please help us find a terrorist who is making death threats based on sexual orientation, race and gender in Minnesota. We need to raise reward money that will encourage witnesses to come forward with information that will lead to the arrested and prosecution of this criminal.“I am a proud resident of St. Peter, Minnesota. I am a married lesbian with a child.  My wife grew up in St. Peter, while I transplanted here over 15 years ago. We have not encountered deliberate acts of discrimination, until late last year.”

The couple then explained how they received two letters in the space of a month which threatened to “destroy our home, shoot and kill us.”

“Both letters made direct threats to stalk and kill our child,” they added, posting the two letters at the end of the fundraising page.

“Your house could be torched, a gun could be used to eliminate you,” one letter reads.

It continues: “Oh, and your poor daughter!  She must be so embarrassed to have you for parents! She needs to look out behind her back also… I know where she goes to school!”

Although the letters have been analysed by police and investigators, no fingerprints or DNA have been recovered.

The couple wrote on their fundraising page: “The person who wrote the letters took precautions to avoid getting caught. It seemed as though the investigation was at a stand still for several months.”

“What kind of person does this? What kind of person can sleep at night after threatening to kill innocent children? A person that belongs behind bars, that’s who!”

Earlier this year, another lesbian couple received a letter which threatened them and their child, which is also being investigated by police.

The Maces said they had received an “outpouring of support” from people all over the world after posting one of the letters on Facebook.

“It really reinforced that the words of this bigoted idiot are not the words of the majority,” they wrote.

“We need to find this terrorist. To do that, we need to raise reward money to offer to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of this criminal. This person must be caught and brought to justice.

“Please give what you can and ask your friends to do the same. We are scared. This seemed to start as an isolated incident, but has progressed to include other innocent families. This needs to stop and this criminal needs to know s/he is not above the law. Help us bring justice to ‘small town rural Minnesota.’”

Young LGBT people who have not come out are less likely to engage on social media like Facebook, a study has found.

Closeted young people have “lower overall network connectivity” than others, according to the research paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

The study examined the use of Facebook among LGBT youth, including how they interacted with managing the disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The results showed closeted young people were less connected on social media, in part, over fears their sexuality or gender identity could lead to potentially negative consequences, such as homophobic, biphobic or transphobic comments.

According to the researchers, social media has introduced “new complications” in balancing public and private selves.

“Information which may previously have been shared with only a few close network members is now easily communicated to the farthest reaches of one’s Facebook network, which may be just as likely to include close friends as it is to include old classmates, casual acquaintances, and extended family members with strong political differences,” the study states.

This means LGBT+ young people are now faced with negotiating how they manage their sexual and gender identities on social media.

Last week, Sir Elton John called on social media giants to bring in new policies to address ignorance, hatred and stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

“Social media has become too often an arena that amplifies all our conflicts and builds walls between us,” he said, speaking at the National AIDS Trust’s Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on HIV.

“Prejudice we thought had disappeared has crawled out from under stones. People are using the privilege of anonymity to say things they would never say in person, or to boast about their privilege in ways we thought we left behind a century ago.

“We are in real danger of losing the essential element of human connection in our society… but with care and a new understanding of its potential, social media could be an engine of change.”

He added that “hyperconnectiveness” should be used to help others.

“Homophobia fuels shame, isolation, cruelty and anger, and therefore HIV. But if we found ways to automatically respond to hatred with fact, the truth could be all the way around the world before falsehood has even got its boots on,” he added.

“Let’s do something dramatic and remind ourselves of the incredible reach of the connected world.

“At a stroke we can reach two billion people in a single moment on Facebook.”

The US Supreme Court is to decide whether to review the case of a gay man who was sentenced to death over a fatal stabbing because the jury was allegedly “homophobic.”

Charles Rhines was sentenced to death by a jury in 1993, after he bound and stabbed a man to death while robbing a doughnut shop in South Dakota.

However, Rhines’ lawyers have petitioned for a reduction in his sentence to life without parole due to alleged homophobia shown by the jury during the sentencing, claiming the jurors thought he would “enjoy prison.”

Rhines has asked the high court to review his case because of alleged evidence showing at least one juror relied on anti-gay stereotypes to sentence him, according to his petition.

The US Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on Thursday if it will review Rhines’ case.

During Rhines’ sentencing, the jurors asked the sentencing judge a series of questions, including whether Rhines would be allowed to “mix with the general inmate population” or “brag about his crime to other inmates, especially new and or young men.”

The jurors also asked whether Rhines would be allowed to “marry or have conjugal visits” or “have a cellmate.”

In their petition to the South Dakota Supreme Court, Rhines’ lawyers say that since the original trial, three jurors have come forward to state that the jury sentenced the now 60-year-old to death based on his sexual orientation.

One juror stated that several jurors “knew that [Rhines] was a homosexual and thought that he shouldn’t be able to spend his life with men in prison.”

Another juror recounted one fellow juror saying during the sentencing: “If he’s gay we’d be sending him where he wants to go.”

The second juror added: “One juror made a joke that Rhines might enjoy a life in prison where he would be among so many men.”

The three jurors also stated that Rhines’ sexual orientation was frequently discussed during the sentencing.

“There was lots of discussion of homosexuality. There was a lot of disgust,” the petition states.

In their response to the petition, the representatives for the state of South Dakota deny the legitimacy of the jurors’ statements.

A survey has found more than half of Americans have no qualms when it comes to their colleagues’ sexual orientation or gender identity.

The poll, carried out by Bospar Public Relations and market research firm Propeller Insights, found 55 percent of Americans aged 18 and over were OK with having gay, lesbian or transgender co-workers.

The poll found those aged 75 and over were the age group most likely to be accepting of LGT colleagues, with 60 percent saying they had no preference of sexuality or gender identity.

56 percent of respondents aged 18-to-34 and 59 percent of those aged 35-to-54 said the same.

Baby-boomers were the least accepting, with only 47.9 percent saying they had no preference.

Many Brits still fear coming out in the workplaceThe survey did not include views on bisexual workers.

Of those polled, only 4.7 percent and 4.6 percent said they would prefer to work with transgender men and women respectively.

“I think it shows that we have a long way to, especially with the trans community,” Bospar executive Curtis Sparrer told NewNowNext.

“When I looked at the data it seemed to suggest that people wanted to work with people like themselves, which would explain why straight men and women did so well—since they are a majority of the country’s population.”

The survey was carried out over a five-day period in April and included 1,010 respondents.

Earlier this year, research by the charity Stonewall found many Brits still fear coming out to colleagues, despite protections outlawing workplace discrimination.

A survey by the organisation found that 35 percent of of LGBT people in the UK remain in the closet to colleagues.

Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, said: “Over the past decade, leading employers across all sectors have shown a real commitment to inclusion and have taken positive steps towards LGBT equality.

“Unfortunately, the findings of our Work Report show there’s still lots to do. The fact that more than a third (35 per cent) of LGBT staff have hidden their identity at work for fear of discrimination shows that change is still very much needed.”

Meanwhile, a US survey found the number of Americans who openly identify as LGBT is higher than ever.

Gallup, a research-based consultant company, released new data that showed a record-breaking 4.5 of Americans surveyed identified as LGBT.

In 2012, 3.5 percent of the adults surveyed identified as LGBT, compared to 3.7 percent in 2014.

As part of the daily tracking performed by the major polling company, Gallup spoke to over 340,000 people in 2017.

The firm found that 4.5 percent of the population identified as LGBT, an increase from 4.1 percent in 2016.