A new blasphemy law?
by James Kennedy, The Critic:
Those leading the call for a broad conversion therapy ban have said “casual conversations” and “private prayer” must be included in any forthcoming legislation.
The Government promised a ban in the Queen’s Speech this week, but was unclear exactly which practices would be covered.
The “Ban Conversion Therapy” group, chaired by Jayne Ozanne and backed by controversial groups like Stonewall and Mermaids, claims in a new briefing that giving any “exemption” for “private prayer and ‘casual conversations’” will “allow conversion practices to continue.”
The group, which recently briefed MPs in Westminster, has long called for the ordinary work of churches to be captured by a ban.
But calling for “casual conversations” to be outlawed is a new low.
What is ‘conversion therapy’?
To the uninitiated, the term “conversion therapy” suggests abusive practices that most assumed had long been consigned to the history books in the UK. If such abuses are still going on they should obviously be stopped.
But it’s clear that the truly abusive practices they cite, such as electro-shock treatments and the horrifically titled “corrective rape”, are already illegal.
So what is it that activists really want banned? As many are realising, it is everyday speech. Some angry LGBT campaigners are seeking to silence debate on issues of sexuality and gender, especially in churches. They want a kind of LGBT blasphemy law.
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