No right to discriminate – rain or shine!
It may have been pouring rain, but that didn鈥檛 stop hundreds gathering on Saturday in Sydney鈥檚 CBD and marching through the streets to protest the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill.
The proposed bill has been slammed by the 17c起草社区IA+ community due to concerns over the bill 鈥榣egalising discrimination鈥� and 鈥榩reventing access to essential services鈥�.
Speeches were made outside Sydney Town Hall by community leaders, followed by a march through the streets to Hyde Park.
Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens Senator for NSW, spoke to the protesters in support of 鈥榢illing this bill鈥�, saying:
鈥淭his bill is not about religious freedoms, this bill is actually about unleashing hate, bigotry and xenophobia.鈥�
鈥淭his bill will legally protect the hate that we all faced during the marriage equality plebiscite.鈥�
Shelley Argent, National Spokesperson for Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (PLAG), said to the sea of rainbow-coloured umbrellas:
鈥淲hat鈥檚 worse than this present Government and its horrendous right wing plans, is the Labour Party sitting just on their hands, unsure of which way to turn.鈥�
Argent then turned her attention to the Christians who vocally support this bill.
鈥淚 wonder how some of them sleep at night with the nastiness that swirls in their heads.鈥�
鈥淗ow can they isolate and intimidate and just plain insult people without any concern about the impact of their mental health or self-esteem. This to me is not Christian behaviour.鈥�
Prominent Muslim lawyer Lydia Shelley also addressed the protestors.
鈥淭his bill will enshrine discrimination and prejudice into law,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t will provide economic rewards for discriminating against others, it will cause further cultural, religious and economic divides that will benefit the rich, entrench privilege and it will maintain ideological ghettos.鈥�
April Holcombe from Community Action for Rainbow Rights (CARR), the organisation that hosted the event, pointed out the inequity of the bill.
鈥淭his bill will disproportionately affect LGBTI people, women, people with disabilities, and minority faiths.鈥�
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 getting and keeping a job, going to school, going to the doctor, hospital, pharmacy, accessing charity or social services, or having a safe and welcoming workplace. All of these rights will be trumped by the privilege for bigots to spew their hate.鈥�
Some protesters had travelled hours to attend the rally to voice their concern for the proposed bill.
Ed Abbott, 26, from Newcastle spoke to the 17c起草社区 at the protest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our responsibility as Australian citizens to fight for people who these laws are going to directly affect.鈥�
Anthea, 68, from Wollongong also spoke to The 17c起草社区 at the protest. 鈥淩eligious freedom is a good thing, but it mustn鈥檛 be at the expense of other people.鈥�
For all of the 17c起草社区鈥檚 coverage of the Religious Discrimination Bill, .
For all of the 17c起草社区鈥檚 news coverage, .
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If it’s any comfort, there will be an employment backlash, the “Christians” will pay a price for their “win”.
Say you’re a rational employer, and you’ve got a choice between a rational employee, or a religious bigot, newly empowered to diss women and minority groups.
It’s not going to be that hard to choose, is it.