Debate contribution: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 22 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5740966
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to make a general point. For young people, adolescents and teenagers, growing up is a time of confusion and change. Many of those who experience gender confusion or dysphoria find that their distress decreases over time, as they grow older and accept their natural bodies. Some people realise that their distress comes from trauma, depression, anxiety or body image issues rather than gender dysphoria. Others discover that their feelings relate to being gay or lesbian rather than transgender. For those who talk about the LGBT community, quite often, those in the "LGB" part do not agree with the "T" part or transgender ideology, as Members will be aware. That is why we in the DUP will never support the prescription of puberty blockers to children in Northern Ireland, as they make irreversible changes to the development of their bodies.
141 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met every documented threshold for a qualifying culture-war activity.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.57 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- Criteria met: Dog-whistle messaging (0.92).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.61).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.79).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The text adopts a strongly antagonistic or dog-whistle framing, which qualifies even alongside legitimate scrutiny.
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
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.35 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.44 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.92 | Yes |
| Controversy escalation | 0.20 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.61 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.57 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.20 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.79 |
| 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 01:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9. This record has been assessed 3 times; the latest assessment is shown.
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