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LETTER TO EDITOR: Remove ‘hate sound’ from London Pride Parade

June 24, 2016

Lobby the Mayor of London and Commander Mak Chishty of the Metropolitan Police to stop the purveyors of hate sound on the Pride in London Parade, tomorrow.

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Copy and paste the email below, along with your own comments added if you wish to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Commander Mak Chishty of the Metropolitan Police asking for it to be brought to the attention of the Gold Commander for the Pride March, Commander Dave Musker and the Mayors office of Police and Community Safety.


Dear Sir’s,

I am writing about the ongoing issue of an extremist right-wing group spreading hate speech at London Pride.

Every year at the bottom of Regent Street where it joins Pall Mall there is a protest from the extreme right-wing group Christian Voice, they amplify their intolerant preaching with a sound system and unpleasant, distressing and condemning placards.

They suggest LGBT+ people will burn, that we deserve to burn. The placards promise torture, hideous pornographic violence against us and punishment, just for being who we are. They hide behind scripture, but its hate speech.

The alarm, distress and harm this amplified preaching does to the many thousands of attendees at the Pride March is significant.

I wish to complain about the amplifications of this hate speech and the huge speakers/sound system the group uses to blast their nauseating speech across the Pride March and assembled crowd. As a concerned members of the LGBT+ public I express my concerns about this hate speech being allowed to continue so close to the Pride March.

I acknowledge they have a right to protest if they wish, I can turn my back on their placards, however, I can’t stop my ears to the loud intrusive ranting being spewed into a public space.

I believe that I have a right to go about my day, my one important day, without being harmed. The amplification via the sound system of the constant barrage of judgemental, disrespectful and condemning preaching from these haters is harmful. It harms resilient LGBT+ people like myself, the harm it must do to more vulnerable members of the LBGT+ community is appalling, and it must stop. I am concerned about the impact of this protest on the LGBT+ Community.

I ask you to stop the amplification and sound system of these hate preachers for the duration of the march. It’s a small ask. I ask you to tell them to turn off their sound systems for the duration of the march.

Manchester City Council, Brighton City Council, Cardiff and many other Authorities and Police forces have intervened and stopped this group propagating their vile, hate filled speech. There should be no space in London for this.

The only reason they attend is to spread alarm and distress. They intend to cause harm.

You have the power to stop this, should you choose, working with MOPEC you can stop this. I would also ask you to stop them protesting our Pride.

I argue that following the recent events in Orlando and Mexico that the LGBT community is vulnerable, feeling under attack and distressed and allowing this loud, intrusive, disrespectful and harmful amplified preaching to continue is wrong and by facilitating this amplified preaching you are enabling hate speech.

Please get them to turn off their sound system for the duration of the march.

They must be told to Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

A concerned member of the LGBTQ Community who is attending London Pride this weekend.


Copy this email to:

mayor@london.gov.uk

Mak.Chishty@met.pnn.police.uk 

enquiries@mopac.london.gov.uk

To read more about Christian Voice, click here:

To read more about the man behind this homophobic hate filled protest, click here:

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