 He challenges homophobia wherever he sees it, but who is gay activist Gary Burns? Meet the man who’s revered and loathed in equal measure by the GLBT community.
Love him or hate him, but you certainly can’t ignore him. Whether it’s in GLBT publications, queer discussion forums, or the mainstream media, most people will have seen or read about Gary Burns. He’s a prolific letter-writer, unafraid to speak out against what he considers homophobia, but what sets Burns apart from others who complain about wrongdoing is he does something about it. Last year he singlehandedly took on John Laws and 2UE for ridiculing gay men on air, winning a public apology and a $10,000 cheque that he donated to HIV/AIDS charity The Luncheon Club. He’s currently got complaints lodged against former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett over Kennett’s comparison of gay men to paedophiles and Channel Nine’s The Footy Show for its skit featuring a ‘faulty’ gay boy.
Burns, 52, certainly has his fans. Australian Coalition for Equality spokesperson and gay advocate Rodney Croome describes him as an “anti-homophobia warrior” and Commander of Surry Hills LAC Superintendent Donna Adney admires his “tireless pursuit of acceptance of GLBT members across the broader community”. Others are less complimentary, deeming Burns everything from an attention-seeking media whore to a greedy narcissist who only brings these cases for the money. Who’s right? Burns invited me to his home to find out and to set the record straight.
It’s 6pm when I arrive at his two-bedroom housing association apartment in Woollhara. He has a Sri-Lankan student staying with him and a new permanent resident who arrived two weeks ago: a beautiful white cat called Ivory, who parks herself on my lap. Gay rights posters adorn the walls, along with photos of Burns as a young man (he’s very handsome) and Bette Davis, of whom he is a big fan.
After almost choking on a vegan chocolate biscuit that I brought (they don’t go well with red wine apparently), Burns opens up about his difficult childhood in the rural town of Moree. “I had an alcoholic father who was violent,” he says matter-of-factly. “He used to bash me regularly with a stock whip because I was a sissy, so when I reached Year Ten I had had enough and hopped on the red rattler to Sydney with $82 in my pocket. I remember crying all the way to Sydney as I didn’t know anyone. I got a room at Burwood where the rats were as big as baby rabbits and a job as a junior menswear salesman. It was a lonely and troublesome time. I was dealing with my sexuality. I didn’t know what I was, I just knew I was different and my father saw that as a weakness.”
Not long after his arrival in Sydney in 1973, Burns found the gay scene. “We had such fun,” he recalls. “It was a real family, an environment where community meant something.”
Burns readily admits his activism stems from his violent upbringing. “I came from my own hurt and I saw other gay men being hurt and thought ‘I have to do something about this and change people’s perceptions about gay people’,” he says. While he’s had jobs in various industries (he currently works part time catering for the Jewish community), Burns came to realise in the early 90s that his true vocation in life was activism, particularly for the GLBT community. He even formed his own political party in 1998 – Stop Banks Exploiting Australians – and bagged 6,500 votes.
So, if it’s not for personal gain, why does Burns spend years tied up in litigation?
“During the John Laws case I questioned myself, ‘Gary do you have the strength to go on?’ I had very little support but I remember back in the old days Bette Davis always said ‘No guts, no glory.’ If you don’t have the courage and conviction to stand up for what you believe in, how are you going to achieve that glory? And it’s not glory on a personal level, it’s glory for the community. It’s important to stand up against homophobes and bullies because if I don’t, the people behind me, the young, will suffer vilification so I’m trying to make it easier for them.”
But what of those who say Burns and other gay people should lighten up and laugh at skits such as that of The Footy Show?
“They have to understand that people living in isolation are vulnerable and if they are constantly hearing on TV and the radio that they are faulty, sick and of no value, that leads to depression and low-self esteem and they will kill themselves,” Burns, who contemplated suicide at the age of 16, explains.
Of those who accuse him of just wanting to get his name in the media, Burns says: “If you’re going to take on the likes of John Laws and Jeff Kennett, you have to work with the media, it’s that simple. When people attack me, I say they don’t know me. They say I’m doing it for money but I haven’t made anything. Money and materialism mean nothing to me. What’s important is when I see young gay men at the Midnight Shift, dancing and throwing their arms in the air, being who they are, I say, ‘Gary this is what it is about, ensuring these gay men can lead a life where they are not vilified or pilloried by anyone.’”
As we come to end of the interview, I slip in a few personal questions. Does Burns have a boyfriend? “No, I find men a distraction,” he chuckles. Why does he do his activism on his own, rather than be part of a group or organisation? “They don’t invite me to join.” What does his dad, now 78, think of him now? “He respects me,” Burns smiles. “He’s proud of me for standing up for myself.” No doubt Bette would be too.
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