Thursday, April 12, 2012

Will Sydney Anglicans call for Phillip Aspinall's resignation when admitting that adequate protections for religious groups exist in the Marriage Act


The Sydney Star Observer reports that the head of Australia’s Anglican Church, Dr Phillip Aspinall admitted that there are adequate protections for religious groups in the Marriage Act and that none of the three marriage equality bills before the parliament would affect those protections.
The Anglican Primate of Australia, Dr Phillip Aspinall’s views about religious protections were made public by Australian Marriage Equality (AME) national campaign director Rodney Croome when he read out a letter from Aspinall in the closing minutes of the House of Representatives hearings into same-sex marriage held in the NSW Parliament today.

In the letter, Aspinall said, “In the context of … the resolutions of the Anglican church supporting marriage as it currently is, I’m advised that the Marriage Act 1961as it stands, contains adequate protections for religious freedom.”

“In particular Section 47 of the Act provides that a minister of religion is not obliged to solemnise any marriage, and the amendments proposed in the three bills now before parliament do not affect this protection.”

Croome told the inquiry that fears that religious groups would be compelled to marry people against their will were unfounded.

2 comments:

  1. I have written to Mr Aspinall demanding his resignation. He has 24 hours to resign. Or I will simply sack him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just as you should Dobby! Standfirm!

    ReplyDelete