A confrontational "Desinty [sic] Church: vote no to lesbians: It's a sin" poster, handwritten and placed on a home in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert has been removed, but the lesbian neighbours it was directed at have decided they no longer feel safe and have accelerated plans they had already made to move out of the area. The NZ Herald reported in January that Mt Albert resident Kate Simpson and her female partner had to view the large poster from their kitchen window “every morning when we wake up or sit in our lounge to watch TV”. Simpson told GayNZ.com that they had also been subject to abuse from children visiting the residence, making rude gestures and yelling “I hope you burn in hell”, all in front of parents who did nothing to curb the behaviour. The couple made complaints to the offices of their local MP and community constable, but did not receive a response. When asked by GayNZ.com to comment on the incident, Destiny Church first denied the existence of the poster before saying it was impossible that any of their members could be responsible. Spokeswoman Janine Cardno said it was the work of non-church members with an agenda to stir “something” up against the Destiny Church.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 26th February 2005 - 12:00pm