In the last few weeks something extraordinary happened in the US state of Indiana.
Governor Michael Pence presided over new legislation to strip the rights of gay and lesbian people under the guise of “religious freedom” … but the whole thing blew up in his face after a huge backlash from the broader community and from big business right across America.
Curiously, the Premier of Tasmania, Will Hodgman, is about to introduce very similar “religious freedom laws” into the Tasmanian parliament, oblivious to the potential backlash that awaits him.
In Indiana, Governor Pence was convinced by religious conservatives to pass new laws that would allow all business people in Indiana to refuse service to any person who “contravened their religious beliefs.
”This move by the religious right was in response to the growing acceptance of marriage equality across the USA, and the fact that some fundamentalist Christian bakers and florists don’t want to provide cakes and flowers to same-sex nuptials.
However, in order for the Indiana “religious freedom” law to sound nice and look reasonable, it was designed in a way to try and camouflage the underlying homophobia and presented as something which had nothing to do with anti-gay prejudice.
Governor Pence said he was merely drawing up laws that already existed in 29 other US states and seemed genuinely puzzled by the extraordinary backlash against the legislation which snowballed into a national and potentially international boycott of his state.
Thousands marched in the streets against the law. Multi-billion dollar companies called for it to be repealed and others threatened to re-locate from Indiana. Famous resident pop stars spoke out, major sporting events were cancelling tour dates, local governments in other states black-banned Indiana from municipal business and Indiana’s conservative newspaper called on Pence to “fix this law”.
Governor Pence was punch drunk and reeling. He dug in his heels, insisted the legislation was not anti-gay, said repeatedly the law was misunderstood and that he wasn’t changing it. But a week is a long time in politics. When Pence was photographed signing the Act into law, he was flanked by four of Indiana’s most notorious anti-gay campaigners and who had been behind the push all along. It was game-over for Pence.
What Pence had failed to appreciate, was that community attitudes had come a very long way since the other US states went down this path years ago. Times have changed. Homophobia is no longer acceptable and people see right through anti-gay laws when they are dressed up as something else. No-one wants new anti-homosexual laws and a line was drawn in the sand at Indiana.
Which brings us to Tasmania.
This week, the Tasmanian Parliament will be debating legislation prompted by religious conservatives in the Island State. It is also called a “religious freedom” Bill, and as with Indiana’s law, is designed to hide its underlying anti-homosexual bias.
The Bill will allow any religious school to refuse to enroll any student who it regards as “against its religious beliefs”. This is code for endorsing homophobia; it’s about letting church schools refuse entry to gay or lesbian students or those raised by same-sex parents. Currently, they cannot.
When Tasmania’s appalling anti-homosexual criminal laws were repealed in 1997 and comprehensive anti-discrimination laws replaced them a few short years later, they became the best in Australia. The high-water mark of this reform was refusing to give religious schools an automatic exemption from these protections, contrary to similar laws on the mainland. The religious conservatives in Tasmania have always resented this and have long agitated to wind back the clock.
Despite the strong Tasmanian anti-discrimination laws being in place for 16 years, not one, solitary church school can provide a single example of their “religious beliefs and tenets” having been violated. Not one.
So, the claim by religious conservatives that the existing law is a hindrance is untrue. What really riles them is that unlike other states their once privileged position is not above the law.
Now that Tasmania has a Liberal government, the religious right has pounced and is pushing Premier Hodgman to rush the legislation and cement the roll-back allowing religious schools to get away with anti-gay discrimination.
• Hodgman, just like Pence, is claiming the legislation is about religious freedom, not homophobia.
• Hodgman, just like Pence, is claiming that people are misrepresenting the legislation.
•Hodgman, just like Pence, is pointing to other states and saying, “We’re just doing the same as they already have.”
• Hodgman, just like Pence, misses the point and underestimates what’s at stake here.
It’s worth remembering that in 1994, when Tasmanian gay law reform reached a crescendo and became international news, a small boycott of Tasmanian produce was triggered by Peter Urmson, an oyster shucker in Newtown, Sydney.
Within days that boycott snowballed across Australia as mainland consumers stopped buying Tasmanian produce and cancelled group conferences in that state. Initially MP’s and business groups ridiculed the boycott, but quickly backed down when the financial impact on the state really hit, especially when California threatened to stop importing apples, salmon and cheese sales plummeted and Cascade Beer was off the menu across Australia pubs.
And all this happened in the days before the internet and social media.
Member for Denison, Duncan Kerr MHR, flew Peter Urmson to Tasmania to meet with business groups and to urge an end to the boycott. Armed guards were required following death threats from anti-gay groups. Urmson stood his ground.
The world has changed a lot since then, but not the persistence and motivations of religious conservatives in Tasmania.
Premier Hodgman would be well advised to think through this issue very carefully, to learn from history and the example of Governor Pence.
Pence had to amend his “religious freedom” Act to make specific that the legislation could not be used to discriminate against gay people or same-sex couples.
Hodgman should do the same in Tasmania.
Brian Greig OAM is a former Democrats senator and veteran LGBTI advocate.
Link 1:
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/25/gov-mike-pence-sign-religious-freedom-bill-thursday/70448858/
Link 2:
http://www.theage.com.au/world/indiana-governor-mike-pence-told-to-fix-this-law-letting-businesses-discriminate-against-gays-on-religious-grounds-20150401-1mck0c.html
Link 3:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/02/mike-pence-religious-freedom_n_6996144.html
• Rodney Croome: Religious exemption from anti-bias law likely violates constitution
• Nick McKim: Government Has Nothing to Say on Bigot’s Charter; Download George Williams’ Opinion …
• uh-owe, in Comments: … When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? …
• Pippa, in Comments: As a Christian this entire “debate” makes me incredibly sad. I do not support this legislation. Yet I do believe the Bible, and I believe in the moral teachings of the New Testement.
• uh-owe, in Comments: Thanks Pippa for being Christian. It is your practice of your beliefs that is what I admire and respect. Jesus regularly criticied the scribes and pharisees, and those ‘orthodox’ individuals that crossed the road, leaving the non ‘orthodox’ Samaritan to express concern. Your active expression of your faith demonstrates that in Christian terms these laws are not required.
