Finding the balance between marriage equality and religious freedom
EQUAL聽rights means equal rights for everyone; but when human rights compete it is through dialogue that we find the best way forward.
Last week my friend Rodney Croome wrote of sections of .
The speech argued that it is consistent to advance religious freedom, marriage for same-sex couples and keeping resilient marriages together after one partner changes their gender.
In the speech I also objected to the idea that it was desirable that service providers should face fines for acting against their conscience.
In response, Croome asked: 鈥淚s Tim Wilson suggesting civil celebrants, wedding caterers, florists and photographers effectively be granted an exemption from state and federal anti-discrimination laws?”
The answer to Croome鈥檚 question is easy: no.
As Australia鈥檚 Human Rights Commissioner I have to take account of religious freedom, as well as equality before the law for LGBTI聽Australians.
Throughout the second-half of last year I engaged with communities across Australia about human rights issues.
Religious communities consistently raised their concerns about how religious freedom would be impacted by allowing same-sex couples to marry.
Everyone knows that rabbis, imams and priests will not be forced to marry a same-sex couple, and nor should they be.
What concerns religious communities is whether civil celebrants would be forced to marry same-sex couples even if the marriage goes against their personal religious faith. They were also concerned about wedding venues, photographers and cake makers.
Any intrusion on religious freedom sits on a scale.
Clearly cake makers would have the least infringement on their religious liberty. It鈥檚 hardly an infringement of someone鈥檚 religious freedom to ask them to bake a chocolate mud cake simply because the purchaser may place a plastic figurine of two grooms or brides on the top.
Venues and photographers sit in the middle. They are direct participants in a wedding. I鈥檝e yet to be convinced that it is an infringement on their religious freedom to host or photograph happy couples.
Civil celebrants are a bit different. They conduct a marriage. Civil celebrants are also licensed by government and must treat everyone equally.
It seems pointless to force a religiously-inspired civil celebrant to marry a couple for a relationship they disagree with.
Why anyone would want to be married by a celebrant that doesn鈥檛 respect their marriage is beyond me.
For the most part, the market will sort it out anyway. Civil celebrants will become known as favourable or unfavourable to same-sex couples.
But rather than dismiss the concerns of religious communities I am simply asking: what do religious communities want?
Their answer has been that they do not want people with religious inspiration to be legally compelled to sanction marriages they disagree with.
A solution could be to amend the registration process for civil celebrants.
We could simply require celebrants-to-be to nominate during the registration process whether they wanted to be licensed to celebrate heterosexual marriages, homosexual marriages, or both.
If they only selected “homosexual” then they鈥檇 only legally be able to celebrate a same-sex marriage. There鈥檇 be no discrimination against heterosexual couples because they couldn鈥檛 legally celebrate the marriage.
I flagged this proposal at an Interfaith Summit of religious communities late last year. It received overwhelming support because it took their concerns seriously, resolved the problem and didn鈥檛 diminish treatment of same-sex couples.
I proposed it at a public meeting in Charters Towers and it was pilloried. It may not be the answer, but it is worth considering.
We shouldn鈥檛 look at these debates as though religious freedom can win, or equality wins. We can achieve both.
A zero-sum approach is basically how we end up with anti-discrimination laws that give broad exemptions to religious groups for services financed by the taxpayer, like health and education.
Unsurprisingly, in the with the LGBTI community there has been strong support for removing or narrowing exemptions under anti-discrimination laws.
Meanwhile, there has also be strong support from religious communities to have them maintained.
Equally, the Commission has received suggestions about how this tension can be resolved from both LGBTI groups, as well as from religious communities.
We won鈥檛 resolve these tensions by simply listening to one section of the community and ignoring the other.
We all rightly abhor unjust discrimination. But LGBTI groups sometimes discriminate, too. For example, there are gay and lesbian groups that have been granted exemptions from anti-discrimination laws to exclude people based on their gender or because they are heterosexual.
Advancing all human rights requires an open-mind and a respectful dialogue so that any reform can enjoy widespread support and acceptance.
Tim Wilson is Australia鈥檚 Human Rights Commissioner.
Tim offends my intelligence and credibility as a gay man
Straight white wealthy conservative men are using him to look after themselves
There are further calls to restructure the H.R.C by his alumni at the I.P.A
If it doesn’t reek conflicts of interest by writing articles in The Australian to support him taking over . I don’t know what does.
Absolute self-entitled WANKER of the highest order
So in Australia, we LGBTI people can have Mardi Gras – but not marriage equality?!
The 10 commandments gives us homosexual rights theres a big hint for u all
The 10 commandments gives us homosexul rights theres ab4 hint for u all
Why does the Star Observer keep printing this IPA/LNP guy? He’s achieved nothing as human rights commissioner, except prevent that role from going to someone else who might have given a crap about human rights. I don’t know a SINGLE person who respects him in any way. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s someone worth listening to. Or we’d all have to listen to Alan Jones too (and the scary thing is, over the years I can remember a few very rare times I agreed with Alan Jones, which is more than I can say for Wilson).
If Fred Nile payed $$$ to an ambitious gay guy to help sell his message, someone who’d do anything for money, would the Star Observer print their garbage too?
I can’t wait to see the outcome when Mr Abbott is replaced and Tim reinvents himself again.
Freemarket systems fail and you learn a lot about the dark side of liberatarian views.
Diversity of opinion is o.k but Tims agenda is too radical for the masses
It’s self interest and economics ONLY
Thus the election loss in Victoria resulting in the right wing eating it’s own
He’s a smart operator and it’s fun seeing people challenge his ideas
Sadly Alan Jones became a corrupt shock jock
Is that thexway Tim wants to go as well??
Sad for a smart young man
Don’t know what his partner sees in him other than the status…
I know people who respect him
His mother and family
His partner Ryan Bolger
Disaffected young men and dubious wealthy men who want to screw you for money ie Ayn Rand ideology
And myself for having the guts to be so radica
That’s Freedom…and sadly his downfall by losing all credibility with the people on this thread
Alex Greenwich is his friend so that’s says a lot about that independent
Good luck feathering your own nest at the expense of children mate…
Pretty immoral in my viewpoint but if you can sleep at night with your conscience. ..
Melbourne is a Multicultural city and we don’t like laws that damages it’s economic status by making HATE legal
Cheers
Mathew…
He keeps getting media as he’s vapid and a massive self promoting media whore..
It’s all status and no substance
We don’t take him seriously here in Melbourne it’s just his close clique of friends that support him anyway …
He has many skeletons in his closet and conflicts of interest via the I.P.A
That should be investigated and it’s not because of our lazy media that accept his polished facade
I’m really embarrassed that he’s a Melburnian as he’s not indicative of any gay man I know at all from the right…
Maybe we should boycott Tim in a more public manner?
I would like to ask Tim if he’s ever been to a religious wedding and if he was discriminated there because of his status?
How would he feel then?
Tim has lived in two of the most gay friendly cities in the world that even protect him as a hard right wing gay man.
I only hope he doesn’t encounter any neo-nazi groups in Europe that are fascistic in nature just like his own perverted ideas
Go away please Tim!!
I get that the paid professionals in religion i.e. Rabbis, Priests and Imans will be seeking exemption (religious freedom) but isn’t that whole notion objectionable from a human rights perspective? Are we to continue to believe that religious institutions are still entitled to go against human rights? Does this not go against basic principles of their religions?? But that aside; I think there needs to be a very clear distinction made between the (perceived) religious freedom of the professionals and the personal religious beliefs of individuals who may be caterers, florists and civil celebrants. A vastly different kettle of fish in my opinion, and as they are not professional religious people they should have no exemptions under any laws. They are in business. They are out to make a profit. They are there to provide their own professional services. And it is argued they should be allowed to be exempt from human rights laws? Since when? If we are to have equality, under the law, then we cannot allow these people to undermine our equality because of their personal religious beliefs. If they are granted religious freedom (exemption to discriminate) then where will it stop? Will grave-diggers refuse services because we are gay? Will doctors be allowed to refuse treatment to HIV people or those trans-gendering? At some point there has to be leadership shown, and we are not getting from the government. But our Human Rights Commissioner could certainly be having a huge influence without being so lost in political correctness. Why is he afraid that our Human Rights are going to impinge on the lives of civil celebrants, florists or cake decorators?
Dear LGBT community….
Have a cry, for years you rejected me time and time again from your gay nightclubs because I didn’t fit the profile and was told quite bitchingly that I was obviously not homosexual and should therefore not try to keep coming.
You discriminated based on sexuality to keep your image and standard and now are having a sook because you can’t get a Marriage certificate.
I couldn’t think of anything more hypocritical and quite frankly insignificant.
In conclusion,
Cry me a River
I find it difficult to believe that someone with such a strong religious affiliation would even consider becoming a civil marriage celebrant. A practising Catholic would not even consider a civil marriage legitimate in the eyes of the church anyway. It’s another case of the religious right (or wrong?) wanting to impose their beliefs upon the wider community who do not accept their views or recognise their self proclaimed authority. The current marriage act already ensures they can discriminate against any couple they do not deem worthy of marriage. Someone who has such strong religious convictions should become a minister in their church if they want to marry couples who share their beliefs, instead of trying to impose their religious convictions upon those who want a civil marriage. Many heterosexual couples are forced to have a civil ceremony because they are excluded from having a religious ceremony. Will prospective civil celebrants also be able to nominate whether they will be licensed not to marry divorcees, people of different faiths or impotent couples as well? Let’s keep civil marriages civil and open to all, and leave religious discrimination to the experts… the religious.
Really Tim Wilson, he’s so irrelevant. The proof the conservatives find acceptable, because he’d never admit to sucking cock
Is our gay godfather going to act in his Freedom Commissioner role at Mardi Gras this year?? Free YOUR mind Tim!! ;)
when and why did Tim become such a bigoted gay man?
Does he have psychological issues?
I”m concerned that his arguments are considered sophisticated and clever when they’re very shallow and have a very selfish agenda.
It’s utter propaganda for the far_right wing in this country that want to Americanize our politics.
His ideas are not pragmatic but extremist and dangerous.
IGNORE AT ALL COST.
by the way i’m a progressive LIberal .
The party has kicked out all moderates and left us with this ultra right agenda
This man is being paid for hiS OPINION…
He is the most suitably unqualified man for this role sadly.
Will Tim answer the question everyone wants answered.
Did he get offered Gillian Triggs job when he left the i.p.a?
That’s more important than this ideological nastiness he espouses onto our lovely community.
DISCRIMINATION has no place in our civil society Tim.
so i can blatantly discriminate against a gay- jew as well Tim?
For being homophobic and anti_Semitic as well.
Ridiculous argument.
Tim should disclose his partisan relationship with the newly elected Liberal Democrats Senator .
birds of a feather stick together with extreme and sadly racist views
Why should the bigoted trader be treated differently to the bigoted homophobe?
Why does the former face legal sanction?
Why is saying what you think a right, when you can be effectively forced to do something that betrays your beliefs anyway?
Tim sadly thinks the market will sort this stuff out eventually..
snort….
Tim is playing his own little ideological game again with no real consequences for the real world
I get sick and tired of my community being used for tokenistic political gestures that do very little, if anything at all and then being lectured about a man chosen to appeal to the older conservative vote.
seriously Tim,, we don;t buy your argument
pleas
“Civil” celebrants – the clue is in the title. No exemptions. Not for any group including the alleged LGBTIQ groups who apparently have secured exemptions. That goes for men only clubs that host International Women’s Day events too!
Is Tim Wilson talking? *yawn* Turn the hose on him.
For the life of me I cannot understand why religions and the religious are constantly permitted to avoid their obligations under the law! Make up some rule within your religion and you can get away with whatever you like!
There should be NO exemptions from the anti-discrimination act or the human rights act for anyone; irrespective of their religious beliefs!
Until any religion can actually prove their invisible friend exists they should be treated no different to any other business. They should pay there taxes, they should be fined for any form of discrimination, and they should abide by the same rules and laws as the rest of us!