BACK TO THE BARRICADES?

I am so fucking disheartened to see that institutionalised gay hate is on the rise. I thought we were past all that. I thought we had won our rights and could move on. Yet, here we are, in Australia, still struggling for gay marriage equality, and now we have the lunatic fringe of One Nation vilifying us, and the Q Society praising Muslims for throwing “pillow-biters” off buildings.

Throughout the 1980s I helped in the campaign for decriminalisation, and in the ’90 I protested with ACT-UP and attended candlelight rallies during the AIDS crisis. I thought our battle was over and done. No! The way politics is going we are going to have to man the barricades yet again to secure our basic human rights and I, for one, am up for the fight.

You fired me up with the Donald Trump story [DNA #204]. It’s been clear since he made his public debut (discriminating against black tenants and lying about it even when he was publically caught out) that he is not an honourable or trustworthy operator. How did the USA make such a blunder? Can Australia learn from this and not go down the same path, please! – Christopher Roberts, Clovelly NSW Yes, the LGBTI community must raise its voice in protest, but condemnation must also come from fellow conservatives who find this hate speech offensive. – Ed.