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Some churches have expressed concern that freedom of religion will be breached if the proposed same gender marriage legislation is passed.
Victoria University Faculty of Law professor Bill Atkin has recommended that the parliamentary select committee considering a bill which proposes to to legalise same gender marriage add a “conscience clause” to the legislation, to ensure this does not happen.
“Given that there has been some discussion in the media as well as around this table there should be … some redrafting done to make it quite clear that people in the interests of freedom of religion do not have to perform a marriage which they object to on the grounds of their religious belief,” he said.
Professor Atkin said there was a strong public consensus that this was what the bill intended, but it was important to make it explicit in law.
He recommended a narrowly defined exemption for mainstream churches from anti-discrimination legislation.
Independent marriage celebrants, on the other hand, should not be exempt and should be bound by anti-discrimination law.
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