Leighton Ford
Gay rights protesters demonstrate against North American evangelist Leighton Ford (foreground) at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand March 1987, Photograph by Ian Mackley (born 1928), New Zealand, courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand (Dominion Post Collection, EP/1987/1241)
Many people opposed to homosexual law reform in New Zealand cited the Bible as their guide. Leighton Ford was a well-known Christian evangelist who travelled the world preaching Christian values. His views aligned with those of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, who opposed homosexual law reform here. He preached family values and spoke against the 'homosexual agenda'.
Two years after Ford's visit, coalition spokesman Barry Reed admitted that the 1986 Homosexual Law Reform Act was a 'devastating blow to the coalition'.