Calls for a protest group to be officially classified a ‘gang’ – why aren’t we surprised?

By Nick Hanne | FSU's Education Partnerships Manager

Despite what some might think, we don’t take any pleasure in our warnings being proven right.

It just doesn’t normally happen this fast.

A growing call for the Destiny Church affiliate group ‘Man Up’ to be designated as a gang under recently passed legislation sadly only serves to demonstrate why ill-conceived laws like gang patch bans have serious consequences for freedom of expression. 

You may be concerned about the implications of this. We are too. Our question is, what happens when we play into the hands of our opponents? What we're seeing here is the reason you and I both fight back against censorship. Once you open the door to it, it's never satisfied. 

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Peaceful protests can sometimes get heated. It comes with the territory. But as we’ve repeatedly emphasised, when certain individuals get physical or even violent, that sort of protest crosses a line. Posie Parker in Albert Park likely springs to your mind. 

If you physically disrupt meetings and assault other people you will run up against the law. This tenet has long been viewed as sacrosanct in our democracy.

When protests against the Speak Up For Women rally with Posie Parker turned violent in Albert Park two years ago, the Free Speech Union led the way in fighting for justice. Over 23,000 of you signed our petition calling on the Prime Minister and Police Commissioner to acknowledge that the Police failed to do their job that day when they gave in to the angry mob. 

Fast forward a couple of years, when the ‘Man Up’ group recently took its protest inside the Te Atatu Library and a physical confrontation ensued, it didn’t take long for a public petition to appear, calling for ‘Man Up’ to be designated a criminal gang.

And what did the petitioners specifically appeal to? The Gang Patch Ban.

Here’s what the petition statement says: “The Destiny Church 'Man Up' group looks like a gang (wears patches) and acts like a gang (violence and intimidation tactics). While the gang patch ban is problematic, it is currently in NZ Law - so it may as well be consistent and include these aggressive thugs.” 

Note the cynical admission that even though the petitioners think the ‘ban is problematic’, in this instance they believe it is useful for targeting a group they disagree with. 

In other words: the ends justify the means... We're okay with restrictions, as long as it's against people or groups we don't like. 

What we're seeing here is exactly the sort of thing we warned against when the Government introduced the gang patch ban.

How long until it's Speak Up for Women that others want to class as a gang? Or another church group? Or an organisation, like the Free Speech Union?

We can't use tactics against those we disagree with without expecting them to come back on us one day. 

 

At the Free Speech Union, we’ve consistently argued that such superficial classifications would lead to vague and expedient generalisations being made by Police. While the patch ban might make things more convenient for the cops, it opens a Pandora’s Box of problematic precedents when it comes to everyone’s civil liberties.

Whether or not Man Up is added to the gangs register will ultimately have less to do with observing any consistent principle, and more to do with which way the Government thinks the wind is blowing right now. This inevitably happens when you mess with the rules of the game. 

Obviously, individuals who get violent at a protest, no matter how passionately they feel about an issue, can’t plead ‘free speech’ as a defence for such behaviour. The Bill of Rights Act passed into law in 1990 is clear about this. 

In not protesting peacefully, Man Up have only contributed to the erosion of this democratic norm. We acknowledge that Destiny Church were protesting against something many of you also have strong feelings on. We get it, because many of us on the team do too. But our stance is simple, no matter what topic we're discussing:

Violence is unacceptable, and it won't change minds.

Last weekend a Pride group held a rally in Albert Park in response to Man Up’s recent protests. The group are calling themselves “Queers Bash Back.” You just have to read the name to see that the nature of protests in New Zealand is changing. 

A principled approach to free speech is vital. We’ve got to get this right, not just in law, but in re-establishing basic norms around how we handle disagreement in our civil society.

Many Kiwi adults have forgotten this lesson. The next generation doesn't seem to have been taught it at all.

That’s why the Free Speech Union is working hard to get this message out to schools and universities through initiatives like our Speak Up programme, and participating in university orientation weeks.

New Zealand was once a place where violent protest was exceptionally rare. No longer.

Let’s reverse that trend.