Little does this letter writer in today’s paper (and others) know or understand what Labor’s Shadow AG, Mark Dreyfus has in store.
“..If same-sex marriage becomes legal, will it be illegal for me to express the opinion that I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman?”
Alison Clarke, Bell, Qld
…
My comments below:
Although only tangentially related to the gay marriage opinion poll debate and more about what comes after, for those suggesting that there is nothing to fear further down the track and despite the assurances of the political class, it’s worth re-reading Chris Merritt, the Legal Affairs correspondent for The Australian from March 23rd this year on what Labor’s Mark Dreyfus has in mind with his “18c style” laws and how they impact.
“..Mr Dreyfus has confirmed that if Labor is elected to government he will be considering imposing a general standard for speech that infringes anti-discrimination law.
Under Labor’s proposal, advocates of same-sex marriage would be empowered, for example, to take legal action under 18C-style laws if they felt offended or insulted by those who publically defended the traditional definition of marriage. Those at risk would include priests, rabbis, imams and other religious leaders who publicly oppose same-sex marriage…”