Stormont minister claims Alliance plan to ban ‘conversion therapy' could see concerned parents jailed

A proposed bill banning the attempted 'conversion' of people who come out as non-heterosexual will criminalise parenting, restrict religious freedom and leave teachers in fear of expressing honestly held beliefs, a government minister is claiming. DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons says the Alliance Party bill could see concerned parents jailed for speaking to their children about 'gender identity'. ' Conversion practices are rooted in the false and harmful belief that LGBT+ people are somehow broken and in need of a cure. The evidence is clear that those subjected to such practices can suffer serious harm, including anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation,' according to its sponsor, Eóin Tennyson, the Alliance deputy leader and Upper Bann MLA. The party said the proposed ban will set the criminal threshold for conversion practices as conduct that aims to change or suppress someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, through conversion therapy or coercive conversion behaviour, that causes harm to the victim. The proposal includes safeguards for legitimate healthcare and therapy, and robust thresholds that protect open conversations, and free speech, it added. But Mr Lyons said Mr Tennyson and the Alliance Party 'have lost all sense of proportion'. 'In their rush to be seen as the most progressive party in the Assembly, they've drafted a Bill so vague and so sweeping that it puts ordinary family life, religious practice, and honest conversations in the crosshairs of the criminal law,' the minister said. 'Take a mother or father who tells their child, worried about their identity, to slow down and think it through before making life-changing decisions,' Mr Lyons said at a meeting in Ballymena on Monday evening. 'Under Alliance's proposals, that could be read as an attempt to 'suppress' a gender identity - a parent doing their job, facing up to two years in prison for it. Rather than protecting children it is the criminalisation of ordinary parenting. 'Or take a preacher in his own pulpit, teaching what his church has taught for two thousand years about marriage and sexuality.' This would have a 'chilling effect' on the ability of churches simply to preach, Mr Lyons said. 'Or take a teacher, asked a straightforward question by a pupil, who answers honestly rather than reciting an approved script. Under a law this loosely drafted, that honest answer becomes a legal risk. 'This isn't a Bill that targets abuse. Abuse is already illegal. This is a Bill that targets belief, conscience, and normal conversation, dressed up as compassion.' Mr Tennyson said the Conversion Practices Bill 'does not criminalise conversations, opinions, or beliefs'. 'It is specifically aimed at coercive practices that cause actual harm to those subjected to them,' the MLA said. 'Strong safeguards have been built into the legislation to protect freedom of expression and freedom of religion. In developing the Bill, careful consideration has been given to established legal approaches in areas such as domestic abuse, harassment, and stalking. 'This kind of blatant scaremongering from the Minister is disappointing, though not surprising, given the consistent opposition that he and his party have shown towards measures aimed at advancing equality for the LGBT+ community.'