Homosexual activity between men was illegal in this country until the 1986 law reforms. The closet door was locked and a minority of people were persecuted.
Thank goodness times have changed. Thank goodness society, as a whole, is just fine with a range of orientations and outlooks.
One person clearly who is not is Australian Folau, husband of New Zealand netballer Maria Tutaia. In this, he is far from alone. Swaths of society agree with him, whatever the current prevailing official orthodoxy.
Many come from conservative and fundamentalist religious positions, be they Christian or for that matter Muslim. These are often devout and sincere people who follow "God's will" as best they can in the way they see "Him".
It might seem antiquated, bigoted and ludicrous to modern Western sensibilities, but that is the way it remains in much of the world.
Just as the brilliant flanker Michael Jones restricted his career by refusing to play rugby on Sunday, Folau's beliefs are such he cannot renounce them for convenience. He cannot "deny" his God as apostle Peter once did.
His remarks have caused a ruckus. Rugby, wanting to retain its best player and a magnificent athlete, is in a bind.
It has taken the line players are entitled to personal beliefs and they cannot be barred from expressing them, despite its emphatic "inclusion" policy. A similar position is promulgated by its number one sponsor, Qantas. Both backed change in the recent Australian gay marriage debate, while Folau was opposed.
Folau's views, and also Rugby Australia's stance, have gone down badly with those horrified such beliefs can be expressed by a public figure in this day and age of equality and "inclusion", of the recognition of gender-spectrum rights.
Folau's views are plain wrong. But is it really inclusive to try to shut him down and pressure him? That will not alter his belief or that of others.
Those barred from wider public debate will continue to reinforce each others' outlooks and prejudices. The suppression of different views, the effective elimination of free speech, will not achieve progress.
The lack of any empathy or understanding in both directions disrespects the beliefs of others. While there may be positions which cannot be resiled from, intolerance can undercut the liberal foundations of diversity and acceptance of others and other cultures.
New Zealand rugby itself has rejected its historic homophobia heart. Rugby clubs have hardly been the bastion of gay or women's rights.
But rugby made space for Sonny Bill Williams' Islamic beliefs, even allowing a sponsor's logo to be removed. It has plenty of Pasifika players of dedicated conservative Christian outlook and, surely, their cultural outlook must be respected, even if their views differ from that of rugby hierarchy.
We should be interested in rugby players as sportsmen and women. If someone like Folau is foolish enough to put his views on hell and repenting out on Instagram, then it would be best if everyone just ignored them. Of course, however, that is unlikely to occur, given the mileage activists and the media can extract. It then becomes a matter all media cannot disregard.
There was a time when gay rights were on the outer, and also another era when pro-gay sentiments would have been howled down, when few in the rugby world would have dared speak out for fear of the reaction. Surely, these days rugby and society as a whole are best to just appreciate Folau as a rugby star. How times have changed.
