A flyer riddled with mistruths, warning that marriage equality will lead to further youth crime and increased spending on “syphilis, mental health and AIDS”, has been put on cars in Auckland today. It comes two days out from the second reading of the marriage equality Bill, which the flyer incorrectly states would “finalise legalisation of same sex marriage”. A third reading is required to pass before the Bill is passed into law. “Would you allow your children or family members to commit to same sex marriage,” the flier reads: AUT student Monique Virtue found the leaflet on her car at the university’s North Shore campus. She says most cars had one on their windshield. “When I picked it up to read it I was absolutely mortified and disgusted,” she tells GayNZ.com Daily News. “It felt like another slap in the face towards equal rights, not to mention the information is pure hatred/bigotry. I began removing a few from cars as did a couple of other students.” Some even burnt copies, they were so outraged. The leaflet encourages people to fill out the petition on the Protect Marriage website, however it’s unclear whether its authors are directly affiliated with that group.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 11th March 2013 - 2:27pm