Australian Gay Rights Group Say They’ll Show Tony Abbott Gay People Are Nothing to Be Scared Of

Following comments by the Tony Abbott, leader of the opposition in the Australian House of Representatives, that he felt “threatened” by homosexuality, the Australian Coalition for Equality has written to the politician inviting him to meet with same sex attracted people to see there’s nothing to be fearful of.

Speaking about their offer, Corey Irlan, who is the spokeman for the gay rights group, said:

“We hope Mr Abbott will take up our invitation so he can overcome feeling threatened by homosexuality,”

“Mr Abbott can pick any place he feels safe, and we’ll invite ordinary members of the gay and lesbian community to come and talk with him to show him he has nothing to fear from us.”

The group however indicated that they wanted to do more than just change Abbott’s mind, with Irlam saying it proved there was a need for a national law which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and that:

“The opposition leader can show leadership on this issue by publicly committing the coalition to support federal anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”