NSW churches urge Premier to rule out gay marriage laws
Flag of Tasmania (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The NSW Council of Churches has urged Premier Barry O’Farrell to assure voters that he will not introduce a same-sex marriage bill in the NSW Parliament . The Council also sought confirmation from the Premier that, should a same-sex marriage bill be introduced by a private member or another political party, the bill would not be given priority and Coalition members would not be given a conscience vote. The move comes after Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings announced on Sunday that her government would pursue legislative reform to allow same-sex marriage in Tasmania . NSW Council of Churches President, Revd Dr Ross Clifford , said such a move would undermine longstanding Australian cultural and heritage values, and lead to chaos and confusion with respect to the recognition of marriage across state borders. “The Tasmanian plan indicates that a federal same-sex marriage bill is expected to fail due to lack of public support for such radic