WA Trans Rights Protestors Issued Permit With ‘Draconian Restrictions’

Queer Liberation Boorloo in Western Australia have shared details of what they call ‘Draconian Restrictions’ issued on their permit for a trans rights protest on Saturday January 3.

The group shared the details of a permit which revealed some surprising conditions imposed on the upcoming rally.

However organisers said they were able to have some of the conditions changed

WA Trans Rights Protest to go ahead

Following the recent restrictions on access to gender affirming care in Queensland and the subsequent backflip in the Northern Territory there have been many protests to help protect trans rights around the country.

Earlier this week Queer Liberation Boorloo announced they would hold a snap rally to show their objection to the recent ban on gender affirming care in the Northern Territory.

Hands off trans kids: Oppose The NT’s Healthcare Ban was announced for Saturday January 3 on Instagram, with organisers sourcing the permit required to hold the rally at the Pride Piazza, Northbridge.

However in a post shared on social media overnight they revealed that the permit had attempted to restrict them in some very unusual ways, preventing amplified music, face coverings and engaging with young people under the age of 16.

“When we received the permit we were shocked to find it was far more restrictive than past permits” they said.

They said the permit “forbid the amplification of anything other than speech” which essentially restricted their ability to play any music, which often forms part of the groups protest rallies.

Face coverings for all attendees were banned unless they are specifically for a “genuine religious reason” which was later negotiated to extend to “medical reasons.”

“They argued that it was unreasonable to wear face coverings for an array of other reasons including political expression, protecting your identity from far right counter protesters, or to protect yourself from the heat and the sun” the group said.

Of particular note the ban on “disseminating political literature” to people under 16 was a request that the group said was  “a flagrant skirting [of] their right to be included in political discourse.”

“Their right to political expression is upheld in the UN declaration of human rights, and the UN convention on the rights of the child, both of which Australia is a signatory. The irony of these restrictions being applied to a protest against the removal of the healthcare rights of transgender minors in the NT is pulpable” they wrote.

However as the group did not plan to create any of their own literature they did not seek to overturn this particular directive.

Organisers have vowed to communicate, but not enforce the restrictions to attendees to allow them to make their own choices.

“We will not police our community by enforcing conditions in permits. We will endeavor to make the conditions of the permit known to rally goers so that you can make an informed choice about obeying or disregarding the restriction” they said.

“Police have informed us that if we do not comply with permit conditions police “may get involved”. We encourage people to think deeply about the risks and potential outcomes of skirting permit conditions.”

The rally for trans rights is still set to take place at 5pm at the Pride Piazza, Northbridge.

 

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