There was an equal love/gay marriage march held in Brisbane today. Sadly I didn’t make it due to other plans, but from what I understand it received an excellent turnout. I’m not going to talk about the march, since I wasn’t there. However I do want to cover the topic of gay marriage.
The Marriage Act in Australia specifies that marriage is between a man and a woman. This clarification was added to the act by the Howard Government, which isn’t surprising really. I think it was in their last term in office as well. When the Rudd Labor Government came to power, much was done to bring many rights for gay people into line with those for straight people. This includes recognising gay couples as being the same as ‘de facto’ couples and therefore receiving basically the same rights as any heterosexual couple. The right to get married was not included in this though.
Sadly this is a political ‘hot potato’ here in Australia. None of the major parties want to touch it. The Australian Greens, which have now become the third major party in Australian politics, has a policy of legalising gay marriage. Without the support of one of the major parties they have no chance though. There are many other minor parties that support gay marriage, but there are just as many who are against gay marriage. You would have seen in my blog post this week the thoughts of one the One Nation state president of Victoria on gay people, so I can’t imagine his thoughts on gay marriage are any better.
This is an assumption, but I think that for most parts there are a couple of different camps regarding gay marriage. I also think that the way they think either comes down to their previous interactions with gay people, the fact that they have been told by their religious leaders that gay marriage is against their deity’s wishes, or they just don’t understand or have never met a gay person. I think those who agree with gay marriage are either gay themselves, have regular contact/friends/family who are gay or are those who can understand the arguments put forward and see that there is nothing to be feared from gay marriage.
Illegal Gay Marriages - Brisbane Rights March in August 2009 (by DJackmanson)
Fear is such a big motivator in people. When I am scared I will do whatever I can to feel safe again. Those who believe that marriage is set down by their deity as being between a man and a woman are probably scared that if this changes, other parts of what their deity say will be challenged too. Homophobic people are perhaps scared that homosexual people will gain the upper hand when they get equal rights to heterosexual people. Those who don’t understand the issue, or don’t have much to do with gay people, are perhaps scared of the unknown or the untruths they have read elsewhere. And I’m sure there is a group who are just scared of change in general.
I think that those who are for gay marriage know that it won’t change the meaning of what a marriage is. A marriage should be a bond between two people no matter what sex they identify themselves as and what sexual orientation they identify with. As a married man, I think it is heartbreaking that gay people don’t get to have the same rights that I took advantage of when I married Natalie. I also think that they understand that the best thing in the world is knowing that other people get the same rights and privileges as they do.
Why do I care? Because I am a human being. As a human being, I have empathy for others. I also have my own fight for equality when it comes to being accepted for being a fat people, although I don’t know whether a comparison between the two issues is fair to either group. I just don’t get why there is this need to discriminate against people for whatever reason, and I want to stand up against that.
A conscious vote would be nice to see, allowing all members of the House of Representatives and Senate to vote on their conscious rather than some faceless party line. Unlikely though. I think that when it becomes time to vote, this issue is going to be one of many that plays on my mind. I think I know who I am going to vote for, but I am going to make damn sure that I know what the policies of the parties that are going to get my higher preferences, particularly in the Senate race.
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What I don't understand is, if all this grief is about marriage as a religious institution, why are we married? We had a non-religious civil ceremony!
I think the major political parties would be genuinely shocked if they discovered how many non-gay people out there supported gay marriage. I think that they think it's only the gay community that want it, and are vocal about it.
But that's not it at all. As you say, it's about being a human being. Every other person in the world should have the same rights as I have regardless of their sexuality (or ethnicity or religion or beliefs).
Hey Nick,
I just came across your blog. Surprisingly, I have nothing against gay marriage. I am straight and married myself, I have no gay friends, and I am religious in a faith that believes marriage is between a man and woman.
But I believe that other people may not have the same beliefs as me. And why should my beliefs replace the beliefs of someone else? Does two gay people getting married void the integrity and validity of my marriage? Of course not. I think people should have the freedom to do whatever is right for them.
And I do think that in 30 years time, this whole "gays not having equal rights" issue would be as absurd as "not giving people of different races the right to get married" issue is today (because there was a time where they had to fight for that right as well)
People should have the right to marry. Even if they are gay.
It’s a tough one! Obviously the definition of marriage in Australia has Christian roots, much like a lot of our culture.
To have the same rights as marriage – definatalie is right – just have a civil union. But if the definition came from the Bible – then that definition can not be changed, obviously.
So those who oppose gay marriage are largely defending the original definition of marriage – they are not opposing civil union, and I think this clarification should be made crystal clear.
And yet marriage existed prior to Christianity. So I don’t get this claim that marriage is a religious construct.
Marriage existed in Ancient Greece, and it wasn’t until around 110CE that discussions were had about bringing marriage under the control of the church. Prior to that, marriage was a private matter with no uniform religious or other ceremony being required.
It is also believed that same-sex marriage existing in Ancient Greece and Rome, so when in Rome…