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Religious groups have written an open letter to Premier Daniel Andrews voicing their "strong and unequivocal opposition" to his controversial "Conversion Practices" Bill.
The open letter calls on the Andrews' government to suspend passage of the extreme legislation.
While we in no way support coercive and harmful practises that force someone to attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, we are united in support of the human rights of any Victorian to have the freedom of choice to seek assistance to adhere to their religious convictions on matters of gender and sexuality.
The Bill legislates ideological constructs around sexual orientation and gender identity. The Bill, therefore, overreaches by imposing constraints on the individual freedom of choice, parental rights and responsibilities, and the ability for religious leaders to offer support, prayer, and resources to same sex attracted and gender dysphoric individuals seeking faith-based assistance to adhere to religiously sanctioned constructs of gender and sexuality.
The rushed nature with which this Bill was introduced and passed in the Legislative Assembly does not provide any assurances or clarity to a significant part of the various religious communities who lacked proper consultation in this process. While it was claimed that consultation with communities took place in 2019, through Engage Victoria, the few who were consulted noted that the survey used was biased in its construction. Additionally, the subsequent summary report compiled from this ‘consultation’ failed to report on the contrary materials that were presented to the survey.
The letter ends with the 31 religious groups calling for the Victorian government to suspend the passage of the Bill immediately, initiate a public enquiry and ensure all faith communities are properly consulted.
Send a quick message to your MP urging them to reject the extreme "Conversion Practices" Bill.