62-year-old Pastor commits suicide after being outed as ‘Transgender’

F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, the mayor of Smiths Station and a respected pastor at the First Baptist Church in Phenix City, took his own life on Friday, November 3 after it was made public knowledge his status as a ‘transgender woman’.

The 62-year-old married father of three was struggling with the public revelation of his secret life as a transgender woman, which he had shared online under the pseudonym “Brittini Blaire Summerlin.”

Copeland’s life took a dark turn when his online alter ego was exposed in an article by 1819 News, a news site with ties to the conservative think tank, the Alabama Policy Institute. Under the persona of “Brittini,”

Copeland openly expressed his identity as a “transitioning transgender curvy girl” who had a deep love for fashion, clothing, and shoes.

He even shared photos of himself wearing women’s outfits and intimate snapshots in women’s underwear.

The report further revealed that Copeland had experimented with wearing his wife’s clothing, often referring to himself as a “thick transgender woman.”

He encouraged other transgender individuals to explore hormone replacement therapy and shared transgender-related adult content, as well as self-authored transgender fiction and erotica.

However, when confronted with the expose, Copeland described his online activities as a “hobby” that was confined to his private life and was known only to his wife. He insisted that it was a way to relieve stress and was not indicative of any intention to medically transition or engage in solicitation.

“What I do in private life has nothing to do with what I do in my holy life,” Copeland told a reporter from 1819 News.

“Does this have any effect on me being mayor, that I sometimes put on a dress or sometimes put on makeup? Does that have anything to do whatsoever with me being mayor or being a pastor?”

In an effort to manage the fallout, Copeland continued to perform his pastoral duties, delivering his regular sermon at the First Baptist Church of Phenix City and briefly addressing the scandal.

He characterized the online material as an “attempt at humor” and expressed regret for any embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of his private life.

Tragically, the burden proved too much for Copeland to bear, and his life came to a sorrowful end on November 3.

The local sheriff’s office had been requested to perform a welfare check and began trailing his vehicle. As they approached him, Copeland exited the vehicle and took his own life with a handgun in front of the officers.