Dave and Kym Zelton The victims of anti-gay hounding which led to the closure of their Christchurch bakery have moved out of the city and are now working on creating an anti-homophobia website. Dave and Kym Zelton have made a new start in life in a fresh location, where they are looking ahead to the future. As GayNZ.com Daily News reported last month, the couple had issues with a volunteer which prompted a torrent of homophobic abuse and harassment from members of the woman's family. As a result they closed their bakery, but that didn't solve the issue. "Once we left the shop the verbal abuse and harassment continued at our residence, with more complaints being given to the police regarding the family and their actions," Dave Zelton says. He says two local police Diversity Liaison Officers were helpful and supportive and delivered a trespass notice for them. The couple is currently in the process of obtaining a harassment order through the courts. Meanwhile a teenager has been sentenced to community detention, ordered to do a life skills course and made to pay reparation for a broken window at the bakery. The damage to their property and vehicles and the costs of moving have left the Zeltons out of pocket, but they are trying to focus on the positive: "We know with pure determination and hard work that we will pull through this mess and life will be good again," Dave Zelton says. They are hoping the gay community gets behind the website they are constructing, It's All About You. That anti-homophobia site will feature testimonies, videos and declarations that speak out against hate, and provide organisations with tools and resources to support LGBTQ rights. The couple will be at the Big Gay Out in Auckland this Sunday where they will meet up with Mangawhai Heads hate crime victims Lindsay Curnow and Juliet Leigh.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 8th February 2011 - 2:50pm