The writer of the infamous Tim Barnett death threat letter published in the NZ Herald is upset that his antigay views are not being published in the gay media in the interests of diversity. Steven Taylor, a serial letter-writer based in Auckland who has had 40 of his letters published 68 times in newspapers nationwide over the last 18 months, says he had no intention of threatening Tim Barnett in his recent letter, in which he suggested that Barnett should be put down like a rabid dog. “I stood not one foot away from him atr a recent Justic Select Committee hearing in Auckland on the Care of Children bill – if I'd wanted to harm Mr Barnett, believe me, I've already had ample opportunity to do so,” Taylor wrote in Express. “Perhaps there will come a time when you stop name-calling and berating others who hold a different viewpoint than your own, and...enter into an honest debate on the issues – try playing the ball, rather than the player."