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STACEY KERAPA INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
A Māori transgender woman is rejecting the use of her history to ban police from marching in uniform in Auckland’s pride parade.
The decision by the Pride board has split the community and led to sponsors pulling funding, putting February’s parade in jeopardy.
Pride Association member Stacey Kerapa says it was not until she went to the community meeting on Sunday that she found it was being cast as a race issue, with the instigator self-identifying at the hui as a young Māori trans woman.
She says the history of police persecution of transsexuals was being abused to support a personal agenda.
"It really had nothing to do with you. You were not affected with it. Don't bring that into it when what we are really talking about is the pride of these police officers that are actually openly gay, transgender, bi, lesbians, that are also proud to be police officers, proud to be corrections officers etc, etc. By taking that from them, you are also taking their pride at being a queer officer," she says.
Stacey Kerapa says the history of police persecution of homosexuals and especially Māori transsexuals is well known, but it’s something police have acknowledged and have tried to set right.
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