Rachel Smalley: Anti-gay preacher is inciting violence - he must be referred to police

You may have read the story about the pastor in West Auckland who's taken aim at the gay community and Jacinda Ardern as a woman leader.

This is the WestCity Bible Baptist Church and the pastor who delivered the sermon is Logan Robertson.

Let me take you through what he said.

"My view on homo marriage is that the Bible never mentions it so I'm not against them getting married, as long as a bullet goes through their head the moment they kiss. Because that's what it talks about - not homo marriage but homo death."

Robertson says he's just repeating the Bible and when asked if it was hate speech he said "Of course it is. If the world thinks it's hate speech then that's fine".

In the past he's admitted emailing a gay author and telling him he was praying for him to commit suicide.

Robertson's the pastor at the WestCity Bible Baptist Church, an independent church that has no association with the Baptist denomination of New Zealand.

St Matthew-In-the-City in Auckland says his comments are "inciting violence, verging on hate speech and verging on criminal behaviour". I would go one step further and say this isn't verging on hate speech, it IS hate speech.

And if you delve a little further into the sermons of this man, you'll realise his horrendous, bigoted views go beyond the gay community.

For example, he's very opposed to the Labour Party appointing a woman as Leader.

In a video he posted on the church's Facebook page he said: "I don't let my wife vote. I don't believe in women voting.

"The Bible actually says that it's a curse for a nation to have a woman ruling over them.

"Don't vote for Jacinda. She needs to shut up, go home and get in the kitchen where women belong and bake a cake for her boyfriend."

Now, my first thought when I read this was - well, ignore him. Don't give him any air-time. He's an idiot. And I always question whether those who pour such scorn and hatred on the homosexual community are, in fact, questioning or denying their own sexuality. But that's by-the-by I guess.

Some will argue we live in a democracy and this is free speech.

Well, is it? His comments about Ardern are misogynistic but they fall under the category of free speech.

But his reference to same-sex marriage - that he has no problem with the marriage as such, as long as a bullet goes through their heads the moment they kiss - that is hate speech. That's inciting violence and that's a criminal offence.

If his comments haven't already been referred to police, they should be.

He has an audience, he has followers, and he's clearly a very angry, troubled man.