Auckland Pride warns of US influence on NZ anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment - The Front Page

The Auckland Pride Parade, Ponsonby Rd, Auckland. 25 February 2017 New Zealand Herald Photograph by Dean Purcell.

As New Zealand celebrates Pride Month, there’s a suggestion anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the United States could be a ‘canary in the coal mine’ and filter through.

A second Donald Trump administration has seen a rise in anti-trans laws — with the US President quick to sign an executive order recognising only two sexes.

He’s also revoked orders preventing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation and has ended funding for gender-affirming care to those under 19.

The US military has announced it won’t accept transgender people hoping to enlist and trans women are now banned from competing in female sports there.

It’s all while Idaho Republican legislators are calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision on same-sex marriage equality.

Auckland Pride board chair Bhen Goodsir told The Front Page this kind of behaviour from an increasingly vocal minority had been trending over the law few years.

“It’s really pushing back against what has been important progress for recognising the dignity and importance of rainbow communities.

“I think when the tone is set from the top, and that’s what we’re seeing both in the US and in New Zealand, that does embolden people to feel like they can speak out against their communities,” he said.

New Zealand has also seen a backlash against the rainbow community.

Last year, a Destiny Church member vandalised Karangahape Rd’s rainbow crossing in Auckland, and several drag story-time events were forced to be cancelled after threats.

Goodsir said incidents such as those concern him.

“The US is a culturally dominant force in the world so people listen to what’s happening there and I think we can see, in the US, the same groups who have campaigned, in many cases successfully, against access to abortion healthcare, are now using those same strategies to campaign against access to trans healthcare.

“Those strategies are starting to be adopted more and more in New Zealand,” he said.

Trump’s America has also seen diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Government and private companies diminish.

The likes of Google, Amazon, Meta, General Motors, Intel, PayPal, Pepsi, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, and Disney have ended their DEI initiatives, or at least removed any reference to them from their official websites.

“I don’t think we can really look to companies to be leading the way on these issues. In terms of queer rights, it has always been led by the community and by coming together to push for the recognition of our human rights and our dignity.

“And while it’s disappointing, and certainly a canary in the coal mine, our focus really needs to be on coming together as a community to support each other,” he said.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Pride Month and how the US could influence attitudes towards the rainbow community in NZ.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

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