Australian government MPs may cross the floor to protect LGBTQ students if religious bill is revived
Key moderate Liberal MPs in the Australian parliament have signalled they would again cross the floor to vote to abolish the right of faith schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended his plan to pursue a Religious Discrimination Act before legislating any student safeguards.
Liberal MPs Katie Allen, Bridget Archer, Trent Zimmerman and Dave Sharma doubled down on their position after Morrison said there was no evidence gay students were being expelled from faith schools because of their sexuality, and said a re-elected Coalition government would deal with the issues “sequentially”, prioritising the religious bill first.
During the debate on the religious discrimination bill in February, the four MPs, along with Liberal MP for Reid Fiona Martin, crossed the floor to vote with Labor and crossbenchers to support an amendment to scrap s38(3) of the Sex Discrimination Act. This provision gives religious schools a legal exemption to discriminate against students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity – covering both gay and transgender students – including by expelling them.
Canada removes ban on blood donations from gay men
Canadian health officials have removed a ban on blood donations from gay men, one that has long been condemned as homophobic.
The old rule prevented donations from men who have had sex with other men within three months of giving blood.
Health Canada called the move “a significant milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system”.
Countries around the world have been lifting similar bans in recent years.
As of 30 September, prospective donors will not be asked about their sexual orientation during the screening process but instead about whether they engage in any higher-risk sexual behaviours.
US Senators urge TV ratings board to warn viewers of ‘disturbing’ LGBTQ content
A group of Republican senators is calling for the country’s television ratings system to warn parents about “sexual orientation and gender identity content” on children’s TV shows.
In a two-page letter dated May 4, Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., made the request to the chairman of the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board.
The TV Parental Guidelines is a television and film content rating system that Congress, the broadcast industry and the Federal Communications Commission created in 1996 “to give parents more information about the content and age-appropriateness of TV programmes.”
The rating icons — including TV-G, TV-PG and TV-MA — are typically displayed at the top of a screen as a program begins. The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board confirmed to NBC News that it had received the senators’ letter, but it declined to comment further.
