This afternoon, I attended the Unite against Hate Sporting Weekend launch at Parliament Buildings, Belfast as Vice Chair of the LGBT Independent Advisory Group to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

With Tim McGarry of the Hole in the Wall Gang as compère, we were treated to wonderful gags about Northern Ireland in general, as well as learning from the First Minister, The Rt Hon Peter Robinson MLA, that OFMdFM junior minister, Gerry Kelly MLA had

tried to explain the intricacies of Gaelic football.

The First Minister had cracked that he thought he had just about sorted out the ‘offside rule’ in soccer and now he knew there much more to learn.

The sporting jokes continued, but the message remaines loud and clear. In Northern Ireland nowadays it is unacceptable to commit a hate crime. Both the IFA and the GAA were there in support along with the ice hockey Belfast Giants. Indeed all three got an award presented by Jeremy Adams of PSNI Community Safety Branch for their involvement in the ‘Unite against Hate’ campaign.

As Duncan Morrow of Northern Ireland’s Community Relations Council reminded us, there are still hate crimes being carried out in our country. Some statistics that stick in my head from his brief talk:

• 85% of gay people in a recent survey said that they had been attacked in the street. (the other 15% probably didn’t report it).
• 33 families suffered racist attacks on their homes in the last few weeks in one part of Belfast.

I hope that all who see the campaigns signs, stickers, lapel pins, wristbands and tshirts about this weekend and later on in the years to come will work with all of us to Unite against Hate.

cross posted from Michael Campbell.