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As a result of homophobic comments made by Australian tennis legend Margaret Court, gay rights activists plan to show their annoyance in a “peaceful, non-disruptive” way by flying rainbow flags at the Australian Open tennis tournament.

The activists took exception to comments made by Margaret Court in an interview in December, when she said that homosexuals were “aggressively demanding marriage rights that are not theirs to take.” In response to being challenged about her views, the 69-year-old, who is now an ordained pastor, said that she was not against homosexuals, merely their “choice” of how to live their lives.

The protestors response to these comments is to make sure that rainbow flags are seen at the Australian Open, specifically at the Margaret Court Arena. Organisers are hoping that many of the 2,000 people who are following events on a Facebook page, will turn up for the event with a rainbow flag.

Doug Pollard, the leader of the protest, said that the comments made by Court were undesirable and a considerable, but calm response was needed.

“We are not asking for a lot of noise,” he said. “We just want to say that we don’t agree with all the lies Margaret Court has been peddling. People think that she has got away with it for too long and have heard enough of her trading in on her tennis halo.”

Two former tennis champions, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, who are both gay themselves, have criticised Court’s comments.

Navratilova said, “Her myopic view is truly frightening as well as damaging to the thousands of children already living in same-gender families. I have tried to talk to Margaret but to say she’s completely close-minded on the issue is an understatement.”

A father from Wisconsin is in a battle with a homeowner’s association to be allowed to keep Buddhist prayer flags flying outside his house while his son is away completing the basic training for the US army.

Don Chering told his local newspaper, Hudson Star-Observer, that he feels that he is doing no wrong and is supporting US troops by flying the flags. However, Mr. Chering from Hudson, Wisconsin, has been told that he has until the end of January to take the flags down from his home at the Lighthouse Villas development.

“I said, you know that is a violation of certain constitutional rights,” said Don, who is a practising Buddhist. “There are limits to what is acceptable and what’s not acceptable. I don’t think flying a flag to represent your country or your belief system is something the homeowners association should dictate to us.”

Don, and his wife Sandee, have been told by the homeowner’s association that the homes on their development are not permitted to have things attached to the outside of the buildings. Don and his wife hope that the association will have a change of heart and allow them to fly the flags for their son, Aaron, who left home to start his basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on 9th November 2011.

“We’re a community, and they want to homogenise everybody,” he said. “[We] shouldn’t be stopping other people from practising their beliefs respectfully – in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody.”

To make sure everyone knows how proud the city of Preston, Lancashire, are about their Purple Flag status and of the statues that proclaim the feat, the city has decided to celebrate with regular festivals. Purple flags are awarded in honour of being recognised as a city that provides some of the safest and best evening entertainment venues in the country.

In order to achieve maximum benefit from the coveted Purple Flag status, civic leaders have said they need to capitalise on the city’s achievement to help bring more trade into the city and boost the economy.

To qualify for a Purple Flag, the city had to pass various assessments on the quality of its nightlife. Preston passed this test with nightlife being described as outstanding for both patrons and businesses, and was duly awarded the Purple Flag in April 2011. The Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) is responsible for the management of the scheme which is aims to enlighten people about the safety of town-centre nightlife between the hours of 5pm and 8am.

Babs Murphy, chief executive of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, announced that the city’s ‘purple festival’ was an incentive aimed to assist the Business Improvement District (BID).

She went on to say, “The BID’s success in securing Purple Flag status is something else we are looking to shout about more over the next five years.”

Among the plans for the ‘purple festival’ are several busking zones to entertain consumers, while street performers will entertain shoppers. Winckley Square will have year-round lighting in trees around the gardens.