NEWS
Tani Newton
A confused scene developed outside the HB Williams Memorial Library in Gisborne on Tuesday afternoon as protesters and counter-protesters argued over the propriety of the library’s hosting drag queens to speak to young people.
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki had undertaken to stop the series of events at Rotorua, Gisborne and Hastings libraries with drag queens Erika and CoCo Flash from Taranaki. The Rotorua event planned for last Thursday was cancelled by the organisers, citing safety concerns, and on Tuesday evening Hastings library announced that the drag queen storytime planned for Wednesday would not be going ahead. But an inside source has revealed that Gisborne’s meeting took place at a later time, after the protest had ended, at a cost of $500 to ratepayers.
On Saturday, a group of about fifty people, some of them Destiny Church members, met outside the library for an advance protest, before walking to a location opposite the Farmers’ Market and addressing passersby. On Monday, a small group closed the town’s main street and painted over the rainbow pedestrian crossing, fuelling outrage. Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz took to social media to insist that “there is no place for hate or bigotry in Tairawhiti”.
Tuesday afternoon saw protesters, some of them Destiny Church members, and a similar-sized group of counter-protesters shouting, singing, chanting and waving signs at each other. Passing motorists tooted but it was unclear which side they were supporting. Police present were thankful that the scene had remained “relatively peaceful” and said that they were there to protect both sides’ right to speak.
One counter-protester expressed the view that “people are allowed to be who they are” and added that her group – which sported rainbows, bubbles and a unicorn – were there to provide a friendly, welcoming atmosphere for people attending. The group emphasised the need for acceptance and tolerance of all people.
But a 16-year-old in the crowd said that the LGBT agenda “feels forced”. After commenting that it is parents who should be teaching their children right from wrong, he added, “It feels like it’s being forced on our generation.” An older man observed that homosexuals already have the legal right to express themselves and that the protest was against promoting sexuality to children.
Some of the protesters seemed unaware that the event was for youth aged 16 and over, while others insisted that they needed to “get in ahead” and voice their opposition to drag queen shows for young children which might be planned in the future. The overall mood of the protesters, some of whom were Destiny Church members, was one of people who had lost patience with their rates money being spent promoting an agenda they considered harmful and offensive.
One participant pointed out the irony of Pakeha counter-protesters shouting “You are the oppressor” at Maori protesters.
“How do you spin that?” he asked.