 | Australian politicians are about to decide if kids can be barred from school just for being gay. The vote could be in just a few hours. Can you push them to stop this anti-gay plan? | |
Dear friends,
Can you imagine being barred from a school just for being gay? It sounds crazy, but that’s what could happen in the Australian state of Tasmania.
In a few hours, politicians could be voting to decide whether religious schools can legally refuse entry to gay kids on ‘religious grounds’.
It already passed the first stage of voting. The next vote could happen in a few hours when the bill will be discussed. We urgently need to spark a global outcry before the next vote. The international pressure could be enough to sway politicians to vote in favour of equality.
Right now, religious schools in Tasmania can’t discriminate against students. But the State Government wants to change the Anti Discrimination Act and allow discrimination on the grounds of religion at the time of enrollment. If the bill passes, young students who identify as gay or don't share the school's faith could be refused entry.
Groups like the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group have sent a letter to the Legislative Council asking them to vote against the amendment. And Tasmania’s own anti-discrimination commissioner Robin Banks said the move could be dangerous.
Australia’s Liberal Party has been backtracking on equality at a state and national level for years. Prime Minister Tony Abbott is vocally opposed to same-sex marriage. And last year, he tried to introduce a bill to put anti-gay chaplains in schools.
Last year, the Australian government announced they would invest $245 million to send chaplains from anti-gay religious groups to schools where lesbian, gay, bi and trans students are already bullied and harassed. In a few days, over 190,000 of us came together to fight Abbott’s plan. Our outcry created a media storm, and a few weeks later, the High Court ruled the plan unconstitutional.
Thanks for going All Out,
Andre, Jeremy, Guillaume, Oscar and the rest of the All Out team.
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