The historical oppression of glbti people, gay men in particular, and the intensity of the fight to have gay sex decriminalised must never be forgotten, an audience of glbti people were told last night. At the HLR Stories from the Auckland Community event in Auckland, attended by around 100 people, a succession of speakers recounted their experiences of life before, during and immediately after the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Bill thirty years ago. Lawyer John Hughes, after recounting some of the ways glbti people networked, socialised and thought of themselves pre-law reform, both negative and positive, reflected on the historical changes from liberation to oppression which glbti people have experienced. "The erosion of hard-won gains can happen," he said. Raising the spectre of the currently rising social and political unrest in western nations and the rise of the Nazis in previously ultra-liberal 1930s Germany, he noted that "Hitler was voted in on the basis of public indifference to human rights... we have to fight indifference," he said. Hilary King spoke of attending public meetings, organised primarily by social and religious groups, against the decriminalisation of gay sex. "The level of vitriol and hatred was unbelievable, she said. And, she said, the verbal abuse directed at gay men triggered physical abuse "with cowardly attacks in the streets by gangs of homophobes attacking men who had the audacity to love each other." "It's hard now," she said, "to remember the level of persecution of gay men before Law Reform... it was tough, it was awful and it was scary." Amongst the recollections of blighted lives and determination in the face of adversity there were also stories of solidarity, the support of friends and community and the desire to create a better future, not only for gay men but for all glbti people. "We dreamed of Utopia, said Michael Gullery, reflecting on the less connected and more divided glbti communities of today, "but do we have that Utopia now? Is today the Utopia we strove towards?" Other speakers included Anton Blank, Frances Joychild QC, Tairoa Royale, Edward Cowley - aka Buckwheat, Stirling, and Jenny Rankine. The MCs were Sarah Lambourne and Steven Oates and proceeds from ticket sales are being given to the OUTLine national telephone counselling service.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 16th December 2016 - 8:02am