Organizers behind a “straight lives
matter” rally on Saturday to promote “white heteronormativity”
claim 30 people attended, but police put the number at fewer than 15.
The rally is part of a campaign against
same-sex marriage as Australians decide in a government survey
whether such unions should be legalized in Australia. Participation
in the postal survey is non-compulsory and the results are non
binding.
Saturday's event, which was organized
by the far-right Party for Freedom, took place in Darlinghurst, one
of Sydney's largest and most widely recognized LGBT villages, near a
memorial dedicated to the LGBT victims of the Holocaust. The group's
leader, Nick Folkes, told news.com.au that threats of violence kept
supporters away.
“We don't have a history on our side
of politics being very vocal,” Folkes said. “The left wing are
very vocal. There's a big fear of violence among our supporters,
which I think is why we were so poorly supported today.”
“We were definitely worried about
left wing people attacking us. People didn't turn up because of
possible violence. … There has been violence coming from the 'no'
side, but overall the intimidation, name calling, violence – it has
all come from the 'yes' camp.”
“There were definitely 30,” Folkes
claimed. “People didn't stand there [in front of the stage]
because we'd block the cameras.”
Roughly 50 people attended a nearby
counter protest.
In a Facebook post, Folkes, whose party
mostly protests Muslim immigration, explained how immigration and
same-sex marriage were connected.
“The same people who support the
multi-sexual agenda of redefining marriage support third world
immigration, global warming and restrictions on freedom of speech,”
he wrote.