Many of us in the LGBTIQ community are fed up with hurtful debates that question the morality of our identity, and challenge our right to equality.
These debates have been going for decades, with no consideration for the impact on our physical and mental health. The recent election of Anthony Albanese and the Labor government gave us hope for change.
Unfortunately it was short-lived.
Last week in Melbourne, a mob of masked men confronted LGBTIQ protesters at an anti-transgender rally organised by Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull from the UK. Spurred on by her bigotry, the far-right National Socialist Network intimidated protesters with chants and Nazi salutes, but didn't have the guts to show their faces.
Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming also attended the rally and will be suspended from the party for nine months.
Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull continued her anti-transgender rants in Hobart and Canberra, where Senator Lidia Thorpe was thrown to the ground by police.
Just a week after a clash in Sydney where a small group of LGBTIQ protesters tried to demonstrate at a church event led by One Nation's Mark Latham, the NSW politician plumbed new lows publishing a vile, homophobic tweet which was even condemned by federal One National leader Pauline Hanson.
The recent WorldPride celebration in Sydney was an extraordinary event that saw thousands of revellers pour onto our streets. However, many landmarks created for the event were vandalised.
These attacks on the LGBTIQ community are not new.
Transgender people are the current targets of politicians and right-wing commentators, but it's an assault on the whole LGBTIQ community. The backlash against us has been growing since the marriage equality vote six years ago.
The marriage equality debate caused terrible harm to many of us who identify as LGBTIQ.
Our politicians were dragged kicking and screaming into action, years after many democracies had already passed legislation. In the end, we were begrudgingly handed a plebiscite by the likes of Peter Dutton who hoped it would fail.
Despite marriage equality in this country, nothing much has changed.
People who identify as LGBTIQ still face physical and verbal abuse. We cannot walk freely in the streets and show love for each other the way heterosexuals do. The LGBTIQ community is still the target of prejudice and discrimination, and the subject of vicious debates.
What angers me is the lack of concern for our physical and emotional wellbeing. It is widely acknowledged that the LGBTIQ community has higher rates of suicide and self-harm than the rest of society. These figures are higher among transgender people. The ugly scenes we witnessed in Melbourne and Sydney last week make it worse.
I wish Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, Mark Latham and other bigots would think about the consequences of their words. Those of us who identify as LGBTIQ want to feel safe in our communities. We want to be equal members of society.
We're sick of being judged and vilified. We're sick of being bashed and bullied. Most of us have been attacked, often with no consequences for the perpetrators. Many people in the LGBTIQ community have been murdered, and the crimes remain unsolved.
Beating us up was sport in this country for decades.
For many LGBTIQ people, it's been hard to survive in this country.
As a young person, I was called a "faggot" and bashed by rednecks in the street. I was barely conscious when they stopped the assault. I was counselled by a social worker who encouraged me to join a group that supports gay conversion therapy.
Everyone in the LGBTIQ community has a similar story. Our friends have killed themselves, and destroyed themselves with drugs and alcohol. It never ends - because this country feeds hatred against us.
The government has a lot to answer for. The church has a lot to answer for. The education system has a lot to answer for. And the police have a lot to answer for.
The LGBTIQ community bears the physical and emotional scars of your prejudice.
We endured it for years under the previous Coalition government. They did nothing to stop the culture war that right-wing bigots launched against us. Last week, it resulted in violence on our streets.
We need more action from Anthony Albanese and the Labor government. They must do something to stop people like Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull undermining the safety of our community.
We're fed up with hurtful debates.
But it doesn't matter what the church or politicians or bigots like her say. We won't give up and we want equality in this country.
- James May is a freelance writer. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
