I am definitely not retracting my comment: ‘homophobic’ Pae

Pae told Cape Times: “I am definitely not retracting my comment. I am a Christian, and that informs my whole philosophy on life. I do believe homosexuals that they are born that way, but it doesn’t mean it is okay.”

Pae wrote on her Facebook, “we are institutionalising and normalising sin. May God have mercy on us,” a few days after the announcement that gay marriage was legalised by the Supreme Court in all states of the US.

The University of Cape Town’s campus LGBTI organisation, RainbowUCT, later joined calls for immediate intensive action against Pae.

In an official statement, RainbowUCT argued: “As others have done, we interpret her initial statement to be in response to the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to legalise same-sex marriage, or marriage equality, across all 50 states of America (USA). We feel that these initial interpretations have been confirmed not only by her lack of response to the comments of outrage on her status, but also in her response to the press.”

The organisation stated Pae was responsible for upholding the values of equality of the SRC and UCT that she agreed to abide by when she took office and that she was also responsible for serving and supporting all students.

“As RainbowUCT, and as LGBTIAQ+ students we do not feel supported or represented by Pae’s hurtful and offensive words. It is clear that she believes that the varying identities that make up our LGBTIAQ+ community are ‘not okay’ or that we are born inherently inferior. Her statement and actions have not only devalued our existence as people but also our pain in her continued refusal to apologise or explain herself to hurt students.”

In response to the SRC’s temporary suspension of Pae, and an ongoing investigation, the organisation called for “immediate intensive action” from the SRC. They further lamented the lack of public engagement from the SRC on issues homophobia and transphobia.

RainbowUCT declared they also stood in solidarity with Thato Pule, the former SRC chair of transformation and social responsiveness, who stepped down in protest against the remarks made by Pae.