Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
I thank the Member for giving way. I ask him this question genuinely: if, as he believes, the Bill has so many exemptions and so many people would not be captured under it, what is the point of the legislation? If he is aware of abuses or harmful conversion therapy practices, can he tell us what those are?
I want to place on the record that I never said that people who are gay, lesbian or other are not welcome in my party. They are very welcome in my party, and I would challenge anyone who treated them poorly.
When I initially wrote my comments, I wrote that it had been a long day, but it has obviously been a long few days over two weeks. I pay tribute to the Bill sponsor for proposing the Bill and, like others, staying throughout the debate. People have waited a long time for conversion therapy to be outlawed, so,…
FlaggedDecided on a second assessment.Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Dog-whistle messaging.
Thank you very much, Mr Kingston, for your input. Indeed, going back to some of the comments that I have made on the verses referenced, if a pastor or a minister takes said person to First Corinthians and talks them through it, they might not be saying, "You need to change your way", but First Corinthians quite openly…
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Identity framing, Dog-whistle messaging.
The Member makes an important point on clause 7. We had a debate last week about a minister of religion or a pastor preaching their sermon during a service. What happens if a pastor or a minister is approached by an individual who asks them, "Can you tell me your understanding of what the Bible teaches on these…
I thank the Minister for his intervention. I completely understand why he is concerned about that. I have listened to Mr Tennyson who has been at pains to say that that is not the case, but the reality is that it is not about what Mr Tennyson says in the Chamber; it is about what is written in the Bill. If somebody…
I am grateful to the Member for giving way. There is another issue that the Bill sponsor needs to address when considering to whom the Bill applies. We have talked about the freedom that a minister, a pastor or whoever may have at the pulpit to express certain views. During the debate at some stage last week, it was…
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I will take your advice to move on at this hour. I will look at the medical exemption in clause 4, which raises further questions. The Bill exempts therapy provided by persons regulated by four specified bodies and acting within those bodies' professional standards. I take the Bill…
— my reading of the Bill is that, if that were to happen on two or more occasions and the child were to present as alarmed or distressed — the fluffy words in the legislation — that would fall within its ambit. I am happy to give way to the Bill sponsor.
Does the Member agree that it is important to seek clarity? If a parent were to dress their child according to their biological sex, that would be a positive act rather than a failure. If the child were to say, "I am a girl, and I want to wear a skirt", and the parent were to reply, "No, you're going out in trousers"…
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Dog-whistle messaging.
— Bill provides that — it may be an unintended consequence — if, later in life, the child were to decide to take a grievance case against the parent, they could use that example as the second occurrence of the behaviour. I am happy to give way to Mr Burrows.
I find it hard to believe that that would be the case. From my reading of the Bill, if a parent does not want to affirm the gender that, the child says, they are, it being something not in touch with reality that is different from their biological outlook, the —
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Identity framing, Dog-whistle messaging.
Thank you very much, Mr Tennyson, for your input. I just want to give you another scenario. Could a mother or father who refuses to purchase clothes intended to present their son or daughter as the opposite sex to what they actually are find themselves accused of coercive behaviour if that happened on two or more…
I thank the Member for giving way. He has been generous in giving way. I have to challenge what he says because it is manifestly untrue. He is right when he asserts that the definition of coercive behaviour is lifted from domestic abuse legislation. We have learned from that legislation. At the moment, that applies…
I thank the Member for giving way. I am pleased to hear some of his insightful comments. Does the Member agree that "fear, alarm or distress" are emotions that are felt by children throughout their childhood, for any number of reasons, and are not necessarily "psychological harm"?
I thank the Member for his intervention. When I talked about somebody exploring who they are or their gender, there was sniggering from the usual suspects in the Alliance Party. The last thing that a young and vulnerable person needs is activists and ideology-driven people imposing their world view on them and getting…
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Sectarian or communal antagonism, Dog-whistle messaging.
I thank the Member for taking an intervention. The Bill sponsor raised an interesting point. He did not name the therapeutic organisations that use exploratory counselling, but I probably know the ones to which was referring. Is the Member aware that NHS services in England have used an LGBTQI+-affirmative approach? I…
I thank the Bill sponsor for coming in on that. I liked his use of the word "explorative". That is what the Alliance Party is all about: it wants people to explore who they are. It wants people to consider all things apart from their biological reality.
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Identity framing, Dog-whistle messaging, Controversy escalation.
I thank the Member for giving way. Members have been quick to point to organisations, some of which are fairly fringe, that oppose the Bill, but they do not point to the myriad of medical, therapeutic or psychotherapeutic organisations that have supported the banning of conversion therapy. Legitimate therapy is…
— that will create an imbalance and a chilling effect for somebody who is delivering pastoral care or counselling that person. I am happy to give way to the Bill sponsor.