Rainbow community defiant after vandalism of iconic rainbow crossing

The rainbow community refuses to let the recent act of vandalism of Karangahape Road rainbow crossing scare them.

Following vandalism of rainbow crossings, in Auckland and Gisborne, where white paint was poured over them, LGBTQI+ advocates say they won’t give in to fear due to these acts of hate.

Co-chair of Rainbow Auckland, Andie Morton, said while acts of violence like this are not uncommon, they can’t allow it to silence them.

“It’s not uncommon for acts of violence against us, and there are people who are hostile to us, we can’t allow them to win.

“We have to work to make sure we don’t go backwards.”

Morton was also critical of how some politicians responded to the incident.

ACT leader David Seymour in particular released a statement blaming the LGBTQI+ community for instigating the acts of hate.

Talking to 1News, Seymour said, “Don’t be surprised when more and more people do it... in a way, if you look at the attitude shown to those people at the Posie Parker rally, you are now seeing a similar attitude.”

The rainbow community have also received a lot of positivity from locals with expressions of support from people and businesses.

Following the incident, the rainbow crossing was covered in chalk messages in support, from the Auckland community.

Police are treating the vandalism as a hate crime and have executed a search warrant for a property linked with the vehicle used.

The culprits are believed to be linked with Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church, which has continuously sprouted anti-LGBTQI+ views.

For now, however, the rainbow community are not letting this stop them from embracing who they are.