In a further blow for girls and women’s rights and for freedom of speech, Kirralie Smith has been found guilty of vilifying two biological males playing soccer in women’s competitions.
“These are unjust decisions based on unjust laws. The law must be changed to protect girls and women’s sports and freedom of speech,” Family First National Director and lead candidate for the NSW Upper House, Lyle Shelton said.
In two judgements handed down yesterday by deputy chief magistrate Sharon Freund in the NSW Local Court, Smith, who is spokeswoman for the girls’ and women’s rights advocacy group Binary, was found to have vilified biological males Stephanie Blanch and Riley Dennis under the Anti Discrimination Act.
Blanch also successfully sued Binary, of which Shelton is a director.
Smith and Binary could face up to $100,000 in damages for vilifying Blanch and Smith could face a further $100,000 for vilifying Dennis.
Smith and Binary could be forced to publicly apologise for “misgendering” the biological males and be forced to undertake re-education to teach them that men can be women.
Freund was at pains in her judgements to say she was not deciding whether biological males, or transgender “women” as she describes them, should be allowed to play in girls’ and women’s sports.
But in finding against Smith and Binary, she has judged that the law prohibits free argument about the issue.
Freund found that Smith’s social media posts pointing out that Dennis was the top goal scorer in a women’s competition was vilification in breach of the law.
She also found that Smith’s social media “misgendering” Blanch and calling him a “bloke in a frock” was vilification.
In her finding against Binary, Freund said a January newsletter from the group referring to Blanch as a “bloke in a frock” “had the capacity to encourage or spur others to harbour emotions of hatred towards, severe contempt for and severe ridicule of the Plaintiff, on the grounds that the Plaintiff is transgender”.
Shelton said anti-discrimination and anti-vilification laws in NSW and the almost identical laws in all other states and territories were deeply flawed.
“No one should be able to sue their fellow Australian on the basis of hurt feelings.
“Australians should be free to engage in debate, even robustly. The limits to free speech should be at incitement to violence, not to protect the political positions of those engaged in identity politics by shutting down discussion.
“Sadly, Liberal and Labor politicians allow the law to be used vexatiously by anti-free speech activists.
“While these laws are often referred to as ‘hate speech laws’ they are in effect used to silence speech activists hate.”
Shelton said the findings against Smith and Binary only made Family First more determined to contest elections so parliamentarians committed to freedom of speech could be elected to fight for these unjust laws to be repealed.
Family First is fielding candidates in the up-coming South Australian, Victorian and NSW elections and has a reasonable prospect of picking up an Upper House seat in each.
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