Debate contribution: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Peter Martin on 15 September 2026.

MLA: Mr Peter Martin
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 15 September 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5706799

Text

I thank the Member for her intervention. She mentioned the concept of a parent showing love and acceptance if their child presented, in the example that she used, as a different gender. We will all have views on that in the Chamber. What a parent should not do, however, is say, "Yes, that is fine", just because the child has come to them and said x. Any parent in the Chamber will know that that goes for a whole range of things. Sometimes it seems as though I spend my life saying no to my children. For example, "No, you cannot have a Lucozade, because it has a lot of sugar in it", or "No, you cannot stay up till 11.00 pm, because you need sleep".
I will finish the point and then I will give way to the Member for North Antrim. As parents, we say no to some things because we are acting in the best interests of our children. Therefore, when a child comes and presents, as the Member opposite suggested, as someone who is questioning their own gender, is showing signs of gender dysphoria or says, "I think that I might be —", the way in which we show love and acceptance is not just to affirm what that child has just presented to us. If we did that in every instance, parenting would be a nightmare, and children would be worse off for it. We show love and acceptance by actually, sometimes, saying no.
I will give way after I have given way to my colleague. We tell the child, "No, because that is not in your best interests". Parents do that. I imagine that parents will do that when a child comes to them saying that they want to get puberty blockers from Singapore. The parent will say, "No. You are not having those puberty blockers, because you know what they will do. If you take them for long enough, you may not be able to have any children when you are 25. I want you, as a young woman, when you have, perhaps, passed through this phase and, perhaps, to a level, de-transitioned, to experience the joy of having children when you are older". I will give way to my colleague for North Antrim.
I agree. The Member makes the point, perhaps, more eloquently than I do. I am conscious that the Member opposite wanted an intervention. I am more than happy to give her the Floor if she wants in.

418 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Uncertain: close call Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues

Uncertain: this record is published but not counted in any total.

Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.60 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
Criteria met: Dog-whistle messaging (0.75).
The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.51).
Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
The answers did not meet either automatic threshold.

This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.

Jev’s structured answers

Probability that each statement is true of this text (0 = no, 1 = yes). A criterion counts as met at 0.60 or above.
Question	Probability	Met?
Identity framing	0.27	No
Sectarian or communal antagonism	0.38	No
Cultural grievance politics	0.02	No
Dog-whistle messaging	0.75	Yes
Controversy escalation	0.29	No
Legitimate policy scrutiny	0.34	No
Overall judgement	0.60	Between thresholds

Context and attribution (stance)
Option	Probability
No identity-based framing	0.48
Reports or questions it	0.00
Criticises or condemns it	0.01
Adopts it (chosen)	0.51

Subject area (top five)
Subject	Probability
Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues	1.00
No identity-related subject	0.00
Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials	0.00
Parades, bonfires and commemorations	0.00
Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy	0.00

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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