Australia’s Liberal Party invites homophobic tennis star Margaret Court to fundraiser
Margaret Court, tennis star turned homophobic pastor. (Dennis Grombkowski/Getty)
A fundraiser for Australia’s governing Liberal Party has attracted protests due to the presence of Margaret Court.
Margaret Court, a former World Number One, made a splash last month after announcing a ‘boycott’ of Qantas Airways because the airline’s gay CEO supports same-sex marriage.
In further rants she has likened gay people to Hitler, claimed that homosexuality is an ungodly “lust for the flesh”, that LGBT tendencies in young people were “all the devil”, and that older lesbian tennis stars have ‘converted’ younger players.
In a radio interview, she said: “Tennis is full of lesbians… when I was playing there was only a couple there, but those couple that led, that took young ones into parties and things.”
Her comments have been widely condemned, but in a snub to Australia’s LGBT community, she was invited to address a Liberal Party fundraiser in Melbourne this week.
The Liberal Party leads the country’s regressive Coalition government, which has blocked all progress on equal marriage and censored LGBT anti-bullying lessons.
Senator Janet Rice of the Greens challenged the Liberals over the issue in Parliament today.
She said: “I refer you to recent comments by Margaret Court that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people were ‘all the
Devil’.
“She equated accepting and supporting LGBTIQ young people with ‘what Hitler did, with what communism did’. She said, ‘That’s the whole plot in our nation and the nations of the world to get in the minds of the children.’
“Given how hateful and hurtful these comments are to LGBTIQ people, why is Margaret Court speaking at a Liberal Party fundraiser in Melbourne tonight?”
Attorney General George Brandis said:
“I assume the reason she is speaking is because she has been invited to. I am not familiar with the particular remarks you have quoted. By the way, I have met Margaret Court.
She came to see me a couple of years ago to put her point of view in the debate about gay marriage. She is a significant Australian.
He added:” She as I understand it, and has strongly conservative views on gender issues and the question of the rights of gay people.
“I do not share those views, but, might I remind you, Senator Rice, that, in being a prominent opponent of same-sex marriage, Margaret Court represents a point of view shared by, according to the opinion poll evidence, about a third of Australians.
“”Margaret Court’s opposition to same-sex marriage, so far as we can tell from opinion polls, is a point of view that represents about a third of the
people in Australia—about eight million people.
“I am surprised to hear you of all people, coming into this chamber to attack the rights of people to express minority points of view… of course she is entitled to her point of view.”
The fundraiser, which is set to take place in Melbourne tonight, has attracted hundreds of protesters due to the presence of Court.
