UNDER a proposed law from Alliance, parents could face up to two years in jail for having “ordinary” conversations with their children about sexuality and gender.

Teachers could be criminalised for giving “straightforward” answers, while religious ministers might “need to consult their solicitor before delivering a sermon”.

That is the claim from DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons. He was referring to the Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill, a private member’s bill from Alliance MLA Eoin Tennyson, which would ban so-called conversion therapy for gay and transgender people.

The Bill has already been introduced to the assembly and has possible support from the UUP, in addition to full backing from the SDLP and Sinn Féin.

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That gives it a fair chance of avoiding a petition of concern and becoming law, unless it runs out of time before next May’s election.

In practice, it seems unlikely any parent, teacher or minister would be prosecuted under the Bill, let alone imprisoned.

But Mr Lyons’ comments indicate the degree of controversy surrounding this issue, most of it framed in terms of competing rights.

Banning what are effectively private conversations, generally........

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