Some Good News in the Culture Wars

In an ongoing state of war – and that is what the many moral, social and cultural fights are in fact all about – there will be ebbs and flows, wins and losses, victories and defeats, good news and bad news. This site tries to record the state of play in the culture wars, and often the news is a bit gloomy.

But we do have some wins once in a while, and they are of course well worth discussing and sharing far and wide. So let me mention two recent wins which deserve our attention. To feature them does not mean that the culture wars are over, or even that these two cases are now done and dusted.

In both situations eternal vigilance will still be required. Both could be potentially turned around in the days ahead. But for now we can savour these victories, and be encouraged to keep on fighting the good fight. My first story has to do with the dangerous gender bender activism we see being pushed everywhere, including in our classrooms.

The activists are targeting our vulnerable children, seeking to convince them that biology and reality are simply social constructs, and that they can pick and choose to be any sex they want to be. This is simply a form of child abuse, and we should do all we can to protect our kids from such radical indoctrination.

Well, the NSW government has said this is what they plan on doing. As one recent report put it:

NSW public school teachers have been banned from teaching gender theory in the classroom after an independent review into the state’s sex and health education resources.
Students will no longer be taught that gender is a “social construct”, or that sexuality is “non-binary”, occurring on a continuum and “constantly changing”.
An edict encouraging teachers to “de-gender” their language will also likely be scrapped, along with sexually explicit case studies and teaching aids such as the “Genderbread Person”, which promotes the idea that there are “infinite possibilities” of gender identity.
Announced in September, the review by professor Bill Louden followed reports in The Australian that a sex education resource, the Teacher Toolbox for delivering content related to diversity of sex, sexuality and gender, was promoting Safe Schools materials, possibly in contravention of federal guidelines.
Further revelations about Crossroads, the state’s compulsory sex education program for Years 11 and 12, also pushing gender theory, prompted the then education minister Adrian Piccoli to order a review into the research base and scientific underpinning of the material. An update on the review has been provided to teachers, -detailing a list of resources that should not be used.
The list includes the 17-page Teacher Toolbox resource, the Affirming Diversity unit aimed at Year 10 and three of the sexual and gender diversity activities contained within the Crossroads program.
One of those, called Opposite Ends of the Pole, encourages students to consider various case studies, including “Joseph”, a man married with three children who “masturbates [and] fantasises only about men” as well as “Alex”, who had sex with girls as a teenager but has developed a relationship with a man since moving to a country town.

This is great news indeed, and we eagerly look forward to seeing how all this will pan out. The activists of course will fight this tooth and nail. But it is a good start and we must keep asking the NSW government to stay strong on this issue. So if you live in NSW please contact your Liberal MPs and thank them for this stance and urge them to keep at it.

The second victory was long in the making. Bernard Gaynor is one of our conservative champions who has been hounded by homosexual activists for years now. One serial pest was seeking to take down Gaynor, but thankfully Gaynor was just recently exonerated.

Let me offer part of what he said about this from his website:

Today the New South Wales Court of Appeal handed down a judgement that effectively ended three years of progressive totalitarian action against me – and all Australians who dare to express conservative views. This victory could not have come without your support. As such, it is not mine. It belongs to all of us.
I issued the press release below a short time ago. Now I am off to celebrate with my wife and family. The bubbly will flow tonight…
MEDIA RELEASE
3 FEBRUARY 2017
COURT RULING SMASHES NEW SOUTH WALES ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BOARD/TRIBUNAL
The New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board and the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal have received a blunt court ruling today that ends their unlawful and unconstitutional actions against non-New South Wales residents for their views regarding homosexual marriage.
The New South Wales Court of Appeal found that these actions violated the Commonwealth constitution. Unfortunately, the ruling still allows costly action against New South Wales residents who dare to express conservative views on marriage and family.
The judgement also ends almost three years of costly legal action and effectively terminates 32 complaints that had been brought against me by serial homosexual complainant and self-described ‘anti-free speech’ activist, Garry Burns. The Court of Appeal decision states in relation to the complaints against me:
“It follows that there is no operative power to refer such a complaint from the Anti-Discrimination Board to NCAT, nor for NCAT to determine a complaint which has been referred, nor for NCAT’s order purporting to determine such a complaint to be enforced.”
Until this ruling was handed down, I was facing the prospect of fronting a kangaroo court and fines of up to $1.6 million. These fines would have been payable to Garry Burns.
As a result of the ruling, former Victorian political candidate, Tess Corbett, has also been spared contempt charges that may have resulted in her imprisonment.
It is clear from today’s ruling and recent revelations about the operation of the Australian Human Rights Commission that the entire anti-discrimination industry is operating outside the law. This industry is best described as a political police force for the Greens.
A Royal Commission is warranted into the operations, motives and actions of the henchmen who have become a self-anointed ‘Thought Police’ of Australia and the various states.
I will not hold my breath waiting for that to occur. But I have instructed my legal team to commence legal action against the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board as soon as possible.

He concludes with these words:

I also hope that the New South Wales police will now take action against Garry Burns for his decision to contact Islamic organisations and to offer them my personal family details. This has caused great stress for my family and forced us to move residence for our safety. The New South Wales police have declined to take any action on the basis that I was subject to anti-discrimination complaints.
Finally, I thank my wife, family and the thousands of Australians who have supported me. I could not have defended myself without their generosity and assistance. This victory belongs to all of them. And I must thank God as well. He has truly protected me.

Let me offer a few more details from a report on this penned by my friend Caleb Stephen:

An Australian Catholic father of seven has won his case in New South Wales after he was accused of vilification for publicly objecting to what he believed was the blatant promotion of homosexuality.
Bernard Gaynor, a former military man and outspoken free-speech campaigner, received a favorable judgment last week in his battle with the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board and the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)….
In a telephone interview on Monday with LifeSiteNews, Gaynor said, “I’ve fought this case very hard for three years now and I think this case sets a huge precedent,” he said.
Up until the ruling, Gaynor faced the prospect of fronting what he calls a “kangaroo court” and being ordered to issue a formal apology and pay fines up to $1.6 million to Burns. Failure to do so could be considered contempt and opened the possibility of Gaynor’s imprisonment.
A “kangaroo court” is a judicial tribunal or assembly that blatantly disregards recognized standards of law or justice, and often carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides.
“First of all, this matter ends the tyranny of the NSW anti-discrimination board and its serial complainants from attempting to launch complaints against anybody in Australia and holding them to account against NSW law,” he said. “Secondly it provides great hope to the many, many Australians who want to see these anti-discrimination laws scrapped.”
For now, the ruling still allows costly action against New South Wales residents who dare to express conservative views on marriage and family.
“I am disappointed that the arguments on political communication and religious freedom weren’t considered. The judges only ruled on jurisdiction and those battles will come another day,” he said.

I know Bernard personally and the grief he has been going through for so long. So this is great news indeed. Of course that does not mean that these sorts of cases will no longer be happening. In fact, they seem to be on the increase with various anti-discrimination, equal opportunity and anti-vilification laws being used especially to target conservative Christians. So we must still be on guard.

The battles continue, and we cannot relax or get careless here. The war continues. But it is nice to savour a few victories along the way.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/gender-theory-banned-in-nsw-classrooms/news-story/eeb40f3264394798ebe67260fa2f5782
http://bernardgaynor.com.au/our-victory/
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/father-of-sevens-three-year-court-battle-results-in-smashing-victory-for-fr

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