New Zealand church erects trans-affirming billboard to protest gov't bill defining gender

'We don't care what's in your pants'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, June 16, 2026

A historic Anglican church in New Zealand recently put up a transgender-affirming billboard to protest proposed legislation in the country that would legally define man and woman based on biological sex.

St. Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland, which is New Zealand's largest city and former capital, promoted its opposition to the amendment bill by erecting a prominent billboard that reads, "We don't care what's in your pants... and neither should our government," according to a June 11 post on the church's Facebook page.

"Our new billboard is up! St Matthew-in-the-City has made a submission opposing the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill, and we want to share why," the church said in the post, which has more than 8,400 "likes" as of Tuesday.

"This Bill doesn't fix any real gap in the law. What it does do is write trans, intersex, takatapui [LGBT Maori] and non-binary New Zealanders out of legal recognition, undoing two decades of protection under the Human Rights Act, and ignoring the Law Commission's own Ia Tangata recommendations for a better path forward."

"We believe every person carries the image of the divine. No exceptions. Legislation that treats anyone as less deserving of protection is a moral failure, not just a legal one," the church added.

The colors of the pants on the billboard are blue, pink and white to correspond with the transgender flag.

The proposed amendment bill, which passed its first reading in the New Zealand Parliament last month and is open for submissions until July 2, would define "man" as "an adult human biological male" and "woman" as "an adult human biological female."

The bill's general policy statement asserts that "the purpose of this amendment is to uphold legal certainty, protect the integrity of sex-based rights, and ensure that language in law reflects biological reality. This definition will apply in all contexts where the terms 'woman' and 'man' are used, unless explicitly stated otherwise in specific legislation."

The bill prompted widespread protests across five cities last week, according to New Zealand outlet RNZ.

The Rev. Richard Bonifant, who preached his opposition to the gender bill from the pulpit of St. Matthew's earlier this month, said the bill "is clearly discriminatory of a very small group," according to RNZ.

"When it comes to an individual saying, 'I believe I am this gender and this is my right to define who I am,' I just don't think the government has a place in saying, actually you're wrong," he said, adding that the response from the public to his church's billboard has been "unbelievable" and "overwhelmingly positive."

Bonifant said reaction among the Christian community has been more mixed, with some expressing support and others citing Scripture in opposition.

"But for us, we're trying to follow the example of Jesus who welcomed everyone to the table, and offered that without judgment," he said.

Founded in 1902, St. Matthew-in-the-City is considered one of the finest Gothic Revival stone churches in the country, according to Heritage New Zealand. The church also put up a billboard depicting two women kissing on a wedding cake in 2012 to express support for homosexual marriage, which was legalized in New Zealand the next year.