Hero Safe Sex billboard vandalised and reinstated, Auckland, New Zealand

18-Feb-1996

The HERO safe sex billboard was vandalised last week by one church and reinstated accross the road by another church.
On Sunday night the billboard, with the rear view of a naked man with the message "no if's no butts, use condoms every time", was painted over and then the offending picture torn off when the paint failed to cover the man's buttocks by members of the Pacific Island congregation from St John's methodist church. The council then ordered that the billboard removed and it was pulled down on Monday.

On Tuesday night the Rev Paulo Ieriko met with the HERO organisers and agreed that compensation would be paid.

On Wednesday the Rev Jim White, of the the All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby Rd, offered to put up the billboard in the grounds of the church. On Thursday the billboard was installed with the words emBarrassment, homOphobia, inTolerance, bigoTry, ignOrance and discriMination patched over the damaged image of the man. The word BOTTOM was spelt down using the above words.

Mr White said that the billboard was "still on about safe sex but it now confronts other, deeper issues in our society."

By the end of the week All Saints Church had received a number of calls generally supporting the decision to take the poster. The most difficult calls had come from Christians who quoted from the Scriptures to back their opposition to the church's support of a safe sex advertisment aimed at the gay community.
Ref: - QNA - HERO