A sign with a homophobic message was plastered around Melbourne

DISGUSTING signs encouraging people to kill homosexuals have been stuck around Melbourne and outraged the “tolerant and diverse” community.

HOMOPHOBIC signs encouraging people to ‘kick a poofter to death’ to ‘cure’ AIDS have sickened the gay community.

The posters were plastered against light posts in Chapel St in South Yarra, with a homophobic slur so extreme you’d think you were back in the ‘80s.

Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convener Sean Mulcahy said while the posters were reflective of a time when people had these views, most of the community supported those who identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex (LGBTI).

“The posters are extremely offensive and outdated,” he said.

“But I think most of the community’s reaction to this has been one of surprise and condemnation.

“The views on the poster don’t reflect the tolerant and diverse community we live in now so it’s pleasing to see the response to this has been one of shock and repulsion.”

Mr Mulcahy said the posters also served as a reminder of the homophobia same-sex attracted people were exposed to and the stigma of people living with HIV and AIDS.

“I think it’s really quite pathetic somebody would take the time to design, print and plaster these posters in a public space,” he said.

“I’m disgusted by them and the thought somebody would think to waste their time with such a degrading message.”

Homosexuals have been targeted in a poster plastered over lamp posts in Chapel St. Source: AFP

Activist Gregory Storer posted a picture of the street poster on Facebook and said it made him feel sick and frightened.

“There is no excuse for this,” he wrote.

He labelled it as narrow-minded hatred and said homosexual men did not deserve to be treated as second class citizens.

A commenter on the Facebook post said it was disturbing.

“Such a minority of idiots. At least it is not like it once was when poofter was chanted more times a day than hello,” Nic Papalia said.

Victorian Equality Minister Martin Foley dubbed the posters “offensive and objectionable garbage” that showed how far society still has to go to achieve LGBTI equality and respect.

“It is a journey that we will not resile from,” he said.

Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convener Sean Mulcahy said the homophobic signs did not reflect the tolerant society in which we live. Source: Supplied

Mr Mulcahy said decades ago this kind of message would have been more common but people were becoming increasingly tolerant so offensive statements were now out of the norm.

The gay rights campaigner was mainly concerned this act would make the LGBTI community feel unsafe.

“I think what scares me is this creates a message that if you’re gay, bisexual, lesbian, transsexual or intersex, you won’t be accepted because this poster tolerates physical abuse and the killing of LGBTI people,” he said.

“If you’re questioning your sexual orientation or gender identity then these kinds of messages can be incredibly damaging so it’s important for us to come together and say these messages don’t reflect the community we live in.”

Victoria’s Minister for Housing, Disability, Ageing, Mental Health, Equality and Creative Industries, Martin Foley, was disgusted by the homophobic posters. Picture: Kris Reichl

HISTORY OF HOMOPHOBIC INCIDENTS

The views in the poster in South Yarra are also reminiscent of a similar campaign in London in 2011, where homophobes created a ‘gay free zone’.

The LGBTI community has been fighting against homophobia for decades.

In Sydney in 1991, a gay man was beaten to death by a group of young men.

They decided to “beat up a fag” and found his number on a toilet wall and encouraged him to come to a park, where they killed him.

In 1992, three men were living next-door to a lesbian couple.

For four months they harassed the women and made threatening phone calls and attacked their home with graffiti.

In Adelaide in 1993, men targeted two nightclubs and would yell “you’re all f---ing poofters” to its patrons.

The gang of eight to 14 men would also assault people at random and damage the nightspots.

A 1989 survey found Australians did not believe that lesbians and gay men had a right to equality.

A whopping 54 per cent believed homosexual couples should not receive the same level of social rights and benefits as heterosexual couples, 47 per cent believed it shouldn’t be illegal to discriminate against a homosexual and 28 per cent believed homosexual acts in private should be illegal.

Police have since removed the posters and Mr Mulcahy said if anybody came across any others, they should let authorities know.

Anybody who has felt distress as a result of the posters is urged to contact the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby or Beyond Blue.