Feb 10, 2021 contributor
Australian Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne prays during his installation Mass in St. Patrick s Cathedral Aug. 1, 2018. (Credit: John Casamento/Catholic Weekly via CNS.)
Groups across a wide spectrum reacted with dismay and concern to passage of a law in the Australian state of Victoria to ban conversion practices. Some called it an attack on freedom of religion and speech.
SYDNEY Groups across a wide spectrum reacted with dismay and concern to passage of a law in the Australian state of Victoria to ban “conversion” practices. Some called it an attack on freedom of religion and speech.
Critics say it is so broad in its definitions and the sanctions are so severe that it risks criminalizing people in their homes, workplaces and churches who genuinely seek to help those who ask for their support, as well as Christians and other people of faith.
National leader Judith Collins speaks at the dawn service at the Waitangi treaty grounds on 6 February 2021 in Waitangi, New Zealand. The Waitangi Day national holiday celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840 by Maori chiefs and the British Crown, that granted the Maori people the rights of British Citizens and ownership of their lands and other properties. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
The leader of the opposition in New Zealand Judith Collins said her party will now back a ban on conversion therapy after she looked up the practice on Google.
Collins, leader of the National Party, said during the 2020 election campaign that wouldn’t commit to a ban on conversion therapy, though she abhorred the practice, admitting she needed to do more research. Both Jacinda Arden’s Labour Party and the Greens had, at the time, committed to a ban.
Christians in the Australian state of Victoria are fearing for their religious freedom after the legislature voted to ban so-called conversion therapy.
Gay conversion therapy banned in Victoria after marathon debate
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Gay conversion therapy has been outlawed in Victoria following a marathon debate in the upper house on Thursday.
The bill passed the Victorian Parliament 27 votes to nine after a 12-hour sitting in the Legislative Council, where Liberal MPs Bev McArthur and Bernie Finn defied their party’s position and crossed the floor to vote against the government’s legislation.
Crossbench MPs Jeff Bourman, Clifford Hayes, Stuart Grimley, Tania Maxwell, David Limbrick, Tim Quilty and Catherine Cumming also voted against the bill.
Under the reforms, anyone found trying to suppress or change another person’s sexuality or gender identity faces up to 10 years’ jail or fines of almost $10,000 if it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that their actions caused serious injury.