Rachel Evans told Green Left she was horrified by attacks on LGBTIQ protesters outside a church where One Nation leader Mark Latham was speaking on March 21. Evans is a founder of the grassroots marriage equality campaign in Warrang/Sydney and is running for Socialist Alliance in Heffron.
Fifteen LGBTIQ supporters were attacked by several hundred right-wing “Christian Lives Matter” thugs outside St Michael’s Catholic Church in Belfield in the south-west as they attempted to protest.
Police arrested two people and several had to be treated in hospital.
“The LGBTIQ rights protesters had every right to make their voices heard,” Evans said.
“Latham’s crocodile tears about his right to free speech being curtailed are laughable when you consider the frightening consequences of his anti-trans comments.”
St Michaels is renowned for its conservatism.
“Socialist Alliance sends its solidarity to the trans rights protesters,” Evans said.
“It is alarming that some Christian right-wingers are now attempting to bash queer campaigners: it’s a bad sign for the community and society more broadly.
“Campaigners for queer rights are standing up for human rights and against discrimination — which are fundamental to any truly democratic society.
“Latham and Christian Lives Matter seem intent on attacking a small community without rights to wedge their attacks on the queer community and progressives as a whole.”
Evans said there should be a public investigation into whether the thugs who assaulted the trans rights protesters in Belfield are related to the group which marched through Newtown during World Pride on March 3.
“World Pride showed there is a broad acceptance of queer rights and we will fight for that to become law,” Evans concluded.