MP Rodney Hide says he can now understand why gay people fear coming out of the closet. Speaking after what he describes as his gay themed “banter” offended a group of workers meeting at a resort conference centre, Hide says he is horrified at their reaction. "I never really understood why people fear coming out of the closet until this happened,” the Act MP says. He says he now understands “how mean people can be about homosexuals." A representative of the workers has formally complained to Act that when one of their number jokingly asked Hide if he minded being followed into a bar toilet Hide responded “are you gay?” Hide says the issue is one he can dismiss on a personal level, “but just imagine how much worse this could all be if I actually was gay."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 13th March 2003 - 12:00pm