Auckland City's main street will not be a safe place for anyone opposing the politics of the Destiny Church this weekend, say organisers of a counter-rally to the anti-gay Destiny's Defend The Legacy hate march on Saturday March 5th. Don't Hate, Celebrate! has been organised by a group of individuals with the support of local church leaders, and is designed as a peaceful counterpoint to the Destiny fundamentalists, whose march up Queen Street this Saturday is expected to be as aggressive and intimidating as the “Enough is Enough” march on Parliament last August. That march was intended to intimidate politicians into voting against the Civil Union Bill, but it passed with a comfortable majority in early December. Brian Tamaki, the leader of the political Destiny Church, was in the public gallery at Parliament to witness the final reading of the bill. After it passed, he announced to reporters that the issue was far from over. A few days later, a “Defend The Legacy” march was announced. Tamaki wanted to close down the Harbour Bridge for a mega-march from Auckland's North Shore to the War Memorial Museum in Auckland Domain, but Transit New Zealand and the police KO'ed the move for safety reasons. Some within Destiny wanted to ignore the ban and march across the bridge regardless, to which North Shore mayor George Wood called for police to arrest anyone who tried. After consultations with the Auckland City Council, who offered several alternative routes to the marchers, Queen Street was settled upon. In the heart of Auckland's central business district, Queen Street was ironically the former home of the iconic Hero Parade until a homophobic council pressured the parade's move to the gay ghetto of Ponsonby in the mid-nineties. Queen Street was also the scene for Tamaki's “rehearsal” march for “Enough is Enough” in August. A week before the main event, he rode his Harley from Aotea Square, leading a group of between five hundred and a thousand (the exact number has been blurred by Destiny propaganda and hazy media reports) protesters in black t-shirts. Twelve-year-old Demi James, one of the marchers, was intercepted by the Sunday Star-Times and told the reporter he was standing up against “the bad people”. Sadly, this behaviour was only an overture of what was to come a week later in Wellington. Around five thousand Destiny supporters from around the country swarmed into the capital for a scene described by many as reminiscent of a Nuremberg rally. Many gays and lesbians found themselves on the receiving end of intimidation and vitriol on the day. Hundreds of young children joined the anti-Civil Union Bill march, chanting a range of anti-gay slogans. Some were heard yelling "you're filthy" to pro-civil union demonstrators. “If you're gay then that's wrong, and enough is enough,” one young girl said to me, before being whisked away by an angry parent who berated me and our “Queer Nation” TV crew for talking to her. Another older man told me that homosexuals were from “the seed of Satan”. A grandmother, there with her daughter and disabled young granddaughter (in a wheelchair, and sporting an “Enough is Enough” shirt), said she was there to stand up with her family “against the evildoers”. A counter-rally of gays and lesbians and their supporters were quickly dwarfed and surrounded by the Destiny marchers, creating a scary, claustrophobic atmosphere that escalated tensions. A gay student protester eventually ended up being punched by one of the fundamentalists. A chant started up by the civil union supporters, “God Loves Gays”, was over-shouted by nearby Destiny supporters with “God Hates Gays”. With all this in mind, the organisers of this weekend's counter-protest in Auckland are keen to keep supporters of the gay and lesbian community out of harm's way. “[In Wellington] people were spat on, pushed and subjected to abuse. They had Destiny people yelling, ‘kill a homo for God', ‘you are filthy and perverted'. This is not a safe environment either physically nor emotionally for anyone who disagrees with the Destiny Church”, says Annalise Roache, spokesperson for “Don't Hate, Celebrate!” This counter-rally will be held away from the Destiny march, and is planned as a fun day out for families, with activities, entertainment stalls and events for children planned. “People's safety is of greatest concern,” says Roache. “We have decided not to confront Destiny Church instead organising a peaceful response in the form of a fun, family festival." “Don't Hate, Celebrate!” will be held at the Auckland University Quad, on Princess Street from 11am to 2pm on March 5th. More information is available on the event's website, www.notmydestiny.org.nz . Chris Banks - 28th February 2005