Mums ‘worried about losing rights’ under same sex marriage

Lyle Shelton says overseas examples underpin the argument that parents will lose their rights to oppose radical sex education if same sex marriage becomes law.

Federal Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham.

Australian Christian Lobby managing director Lyle Shelton says overseas examples underpin the argument made by three mothers in a Coalition for Marriage advertisement that parents will lose their rights to oppose radical sex and gender education if same sex marriage becomes law.

Mr Shelton’s comments came after Education Minister Simon Birmingham this morning dismissed the notion that a Yes vote on same-sex marriage would lead to a Safe Schools-style overhaul as “patently ridiculous”.

Mr Shelton said legalising same sex marriage was a “big shift” and cited several overseas examples which he said highlighted the concerns of the mothers in the ad.

“Before the law changed in the United Kingdom Jewish schools weren’t failing their education department inspections because they were refusing to teach children that their gender was fluid, radical LGBT sex education programs,” Mr Shelton told Sky News.

“In Canada, before the law changed, parents had the right to take their children out of radical LGBTIQ sex education programs, and now parents like Steve Tourloukis in Ontario, Canada, has lost a supreme court case denying him his parental rights, so this is what these mums are concerned about.

“They’ve all had bad experiences with the so-called Safe Schools program here, and they’re worried they’re going to lose their rights if the law changes.”

Mr Shelton said he did not have “specific data” showing that radical sex and gender education had escalated following the legalisation of same sex marriage overseas, but reiterated the UK and Canadian examples.

“In the UK, the UK Equality Minister as you and I have discussed before, Justine Greening, said that the transgender move, she made law reform there just recently, she said this is the next step forward after same sex marriage came in in 2013,” he said.

“We know that they follow one after the other. They are consequential, and that’s the thing that we’re trying to highlight through these ads. These mums have seen a foretaste of it. That’s why they’re speaking out.”

.@LyleShelton says same-sex marriage will weaken the institution of marriage, as no-fault divorce did. More: https://t.co/FWeMfmB2s2 #auspol pic.twitter.com/i0QsQU7OvJ

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 30, 2017

Minister slams No vote ‘furphy’

Senator Birmingham said he hadn’t seen the ad, but had seen extracts and quotes of its content.

He said there was only one question on the same sex marriage postal survey ballot paper, namely whether the law should be changed to allow same sex couples to marry in Australia.

“Everything else that’s being run is a furphy,” he said.

“The truth is, the reality is, that schools in the future, if they are faith-based schools, will be able to teach according to their faith and according to the definition of marriage according to their faith. That will be respected in the future as it is today.

“It is patently ridiculous to suggest that allowing same-sex couples to marry is somehow going to see some new wave of teaching reform sweep across the country. That’s just not going to happen.”

Senator Birmingham said the same-sex marriage question was a simple issue which should not be conflated with other issues.

“People should go out and think about the show of love, respect and tolerance that can come from a yes vote, and I certainly urge people to vote yes to show that love, respect and tolerance for their fellow Australians,” he said.

The ad comes after elite Catholic schools, Xavier College in Melbourne and Sydney’s Saint Ignatius College, wrote to parents defending same sex marriage.

The letter from the Jesuit schools, which educated Bill Shorten and Tony Abbott respectively, argues that the sacrament must evolve with the times and that the Catholic Church understands marriage stretches beyond procreation.

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has meanwhile urged Catholics to vote No, warning yesterday that marriage between a many and a woman and resulting families were the “bedrock” of society and same sex marriage would “weaken us”.

-With AAP