Free speech campaigners in Belfast have challenged what they term a climate of “no debate” ahead of the Stormont Assembly’s second-stage consideration of the Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill. The Private Member’s Bill, introduced by Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson in June 2026, is scheduled for debate early next week and explicitly includes the term “gender identity” in its definition of proposed criminal offenses.
Belfast Event Targets Scope of Conversion Practices Bill
Ahead of the second-stage debate scheduled for Monday, the Free Speech Union convened a gathering in central Belfast on Friday night featuring lawyers, faith community representatives, clinicians, and teachers opposed to the legislation. Organizers titled the event “Banned in Belfast? Free Speech, Conversion Therapy and the New Northern Ireland” to highlight mounting anxieties that a climate of fear around discussions of sex and gender is actively preventing open public discourse.
The proposed legislation creates new criminal offenses intended to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Critics have characterized the text as “jellyfish-like”: impossibly vague, subjective, and ill-defined. Opponents warn of unintended legal consequences that could expose parents, therapists, religious communities, teachers, and friends to criminal prosecution.
While the Bill appears to command significant political support from Sinn Féin, Alliance and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MLAs, event organizers cautioned that political support should not be mistaken for an absence of serious concerns. Amid protests and accusations of bigotry directed at those questioning fashionable approaches to sex and gender, organizers argued that legislation carrying criminal penalties requires rigorous parliamentary and public scrutiny.
Concerns Raised Over Therapeutic Practice and Free Expression
Dr. Stella O’Malley, psychotherapist and Executive Director of Genspect, stated during the Friday event that while abusive practices should be outlawed, the current legislative text does not do that. She warned that the Bill risks making therapists afraid to ask difficult questions that are part of effective and ethical therapy.
“At Genspect, we have supported more than 600 detransitioners, many of whom tell us they wish they had received better guidance before medically transitioning,” Dr. O’Malley said. “Asking a young person whether their distress could have another explanation, or whether they can slow down, is not conversion therapy. It is conventional therapy.”
Dr. Jan Macvarish, Director of National Engagement at the Free Speech Union, emphasized that the debate unfolding in Northern Ireland is part of a much wider conversation about attempts to legislate on so-called ‘conversion practices’ across the United Kingdom and Ireland. She urged the public to engage with the Northern Ireland Assembly’s call for evidence ahead of the October 1 deadline, emphasizing the need for parents and citizens to understand the proposed scope.
Dispute Over Assembly Scrutiny of Gender Identity
The controversy coincides with an institutional dispute at Stormont. Genspect, the Free Speech Union, and the Christian Institute recently wrote to Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots requesting procedural clarity after Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) were reportedly “blocked” from probing matters related to “gender identity” during debates.
The letter follows inconsistent interventions from the chair across the first two days of the Bill’s Second Stage debate on September 15 and September 22. If the legislation passes, it will mark the first time the term “gender identity” appears in Northern Ireland legislation, intensifying calls from critics for unobstructed legislative review.
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