Gay couple ‘tie the knot’ in protest wedding outside of the Margaret Court Arena
A gay Australian couple who have been together for 30 years have “tied the knot” in an unofficial ceremony outside of Margaret Court Arena to protest the homophobic tennis player.
Ron Van Houwelingen and Antony McManus staged the technically illegal ceremony over the weekend in a move to fight against the Margaret Court’s recent homophobic and transphobic comments.
Court said that she believed a “militant gay conspiracy” was out to get her.
She also announced that she was boycotting Qantas because of the company’s support for same-sex marriage.
She also compared LGBT activists to Adolf Hitler, said that transgender children had been influenced by the Devil and claimed that being a survivor of sexual abuse makes you gay.
The founder of the LGBT organisation DIY Rainbow, James Brechney, “officiated” the wedding between McManus and Van Houwelingen.
Talking to The Age, the couple explained why they decided to stage the defiant but beautiful act.
“Obviously, we find Margaret Court’s statements abhorrent,” Van Houwelingen said.
“We believe that giving [Margaret Court] a platform for her hate speech is not acceptable given her status, so we’re sending her a message of love.”
Van Houwelingen added that the pair had been together for three decades and that they had wanted to get married a long time ago, and they believe they should not be prevented from doing this by the Australian government.
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