Proposed Reform Will Ban Religious Schools in Victoria from Kicking Out LGBTQIA+ Staff

A hot battle ensued between the pro-queer community and religious organizations as they went to war over an age-old issue, which presents itself as equality versus freedom. Everyone was unafraid to expose their claws.

In Victoria, Australia, a proposed reform by the Andrews government seeks to prevent religious schools from firing LGBTQ+ staff. Many are embracing this with open arms, while some worry that this may be infringing on their religious rights.

Not only does this new proposal put forward the prospect of illegalizing dismissal on the grounds of sexuality and gender identity. It also seeks to prevent schools from discriminating on these grounds during the hiring process.

Anna Brown, the Chief Executive of LGBTQ+ Advocacy Group Equality Australia, fully supports this motion. Brown has expressed:

"Faith-based organizations should treat all their employees and the people who rely on their services fairly and without discrimination."

Jaclyn Symes, Victoria's Attorney General, has emphasized, on par with the state government, that schools will still have the ability to demonstrate their faith-based beliefs.

However, some individuals and institutions within the religious sector do not have faith in this reassurance. Mark Spencer, who works as a Public Policy Director for Lobby group Christian Schools Australia conveyed concerns:

“Is [this] the next step... to limit what can be taught in religious schools or preached in a church, mosque, or temple?"

He believes that this is not a one-time incident. He alleged that the state laws have previously forced religious individuals to follow directions they deem out of line with their beliefs.

Previously, using a legal loophole with the basis of their beliefs as the underlying reason, religious educational institutions have been able to be prejudiced against employees, according to Symes.

Some fervently claimed that this waste was specific to LGBTQ+ events.

This issue is what the reform intends to tackle. This state-centered proposition would also require religious organizations to provide non-discriminatory services related to public assistance, such as support for the homeless or counseling.

In another sorrowful state of affairs, these two sides of the fence clashed again with concern to the queer community. Strangely, this debacle was fired up by a littered park following the Gay Pride Event in Manhattan, New York City.

After the author of "Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy," Andy Ngô shared a video of post-parade litter on Twitter, a debate emerged. Some fervently claimed that this waste was specific to LGBTQ+ events.

Others thought this was ridiculous, expressing that most large social gatherings leave a significant amount of litter behind. The rainbow flag flies on among the fray, not knowing what kind of future its children will live to see.