Watch: Tulsa Man 'Standing Up To' Gay Neighbors, Offering 'Love'... with Hate Speech?

A self-proclaimed Christian has sparked controversy in his Tulsa, Oklahoma neighborhood by setting up yard displays his gay neighbors say they find intimidating and hateful.

The man behind the anti-gay displays says he's not trying to demean anyone; he just wants to show his gay neighbors there's "a better way." And that way, evidently, takes the form of what LGBTQ people would perceive as not-so-veiled threats.

Same-sex couple Christopher Jones and Terry Geasland live right across the street from yard displays they say are "in your face" and "demeaning."

Other neighbors also find the displays - including a Pride flag with a black X marked across its rainbow of colors - to be unacceptable.

But Jon Bailey - owner of "Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning" company Bailey Home Service - points to his faith as the reason for the displays targeting his gay neighbors.

"I was brought up in a Christian home with Christian morals and values," Bailey told local news station KJRH. "I believe that homosexuality is wrong."

Longtime residents of the neighborhood don't see much of Christendom in the displays, however.

"I have lived in this neighborhood for 17 years," one neighbor, identified by KJRH as Cindy Roberts, told the news station. "I have never seen anything this awful. It disgusts me. I'm upset!"

Added Roberts: "It's just showing hate in our neighborhood, and we have kids here."

Bailey says it's a matter of "standing up to" his gay neighbors, though it's unclear exactly for what. Media reports did not mention any acts of aggression or hostility by Jones and Geasland aimed at Bailey that would warrant being "stood up to."

Bailey insisted that neighbors - including straight families - who objected to his signs were the ones infringing on rights... his rights.

"The gay and lesbian community are bullying people into being quiet and to being silent, and they are making people like me that are standing up against them feel like criminals," he declared.

Bailey reiterated those sentiments when denying concerns expressed by Toby Jenkins of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, who noted that anti-LGBTQ words can lead, all too easily, to anti-LGBTQ violence.

"You have to wonder sometimes, where do you draw the line," Jenkins was quoted as saying by KJRH. "There should be some sort of statute or ordinance in place that you can not inflame or target a particular community."

Whereas the international sign for "not allowed" - often used in political messaging to indicate disagreement - is a red circle with a slash through it, black X marks have long been used by cartoonists to indicate death. Black Xs over the eyes of a character in comic strips, for instance, signify that the character is deceased.

Black Xs are also used as visual shorthand for death, or impending death, in movies. Martin Scorsese famously used black Xs over windows in the background of a scene from "The Departed" to foreshadow the deaths of characters in that film.

Dismissing the worry that his displays could be taken as promoting violence, Bailey told the media: "I am spreading awareness and it empowers other people to stand up against this."

If Jenkins had anything specific in mind by the word "this" - visibility? Commitment by same-sex couples? People of other faith traditions being free not to share his particular brand of Christian values? - media reports did not provide that information.

Taking to social media before he spoke to the news station, Bailey framed his actions as being borne out of "love" for my homosexual neighbors" in a May 6 Facebook post.

The post started off with a militaristic tone.

"Calling on All prayer warriors. I have an interview today at 3 pm with at least 1 news channel," Bailey announced.

"The subject is homosexuality and why I'm against it and what I've done out of love for my homosexual neighbors," Bailey's Facebook post continued. "Please pray that the holy spirit fills me with the correct words to say. Thank u everyone!"

Tulsa police agree that Bailey has every right to put up whatever he wants in his own yard.

Watch the KJRH news clip below.