Being a lawyer, I spend a lot of time arguing with people, or trying to negotiate an agreement between people who are arguing. So in my downtime, I tend to try and avoid dinner party debates about politics. But living in Canberra, sometimes politics is impossible to ignore. It is especially difficult when a political issue comes up that is related to my speciality of family law, or raises issues close to my heart. The "gathering" today at Parliament House did both.
According to media reports, there was a gathering of about 200 people at Parliament House in Canberra protesting against "Gay Marriage" (or as some people call it: Marriage).
According to ninemsn reports:
Addressing the National Marriage Day rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday, a Pastor said homosexual relationships only led to destructive and self-centred acts. "I'm convinced that homosexuals (re)produces themselves by molesting children," he told the 200-strong crowd.
To say I was shocked to read this was an understatement. Do people really believe this??
The outdoor gathering was then followed by an event of about 500 people inside Parliament House's Great Hall. According to the SameSame and the Australian:
The event’s special keynote speaker from Washington DC, said if you allowed gay marriage, “anything’’ such as polygamy and marriage between paedophiles and children 'could be called marriage,” she asserted. It got worse. She said there was “no greater evil” than the forces who proposed to legalise gay marriage and that they were in a “war for the future of the human race.”
But it wasn't just the guest speakers who were supporting the anti-marriage movement, our members of parliament were also in attendance lending their support. And that is the most disappointing fact of all. People who are supposed to be the leaders of our nation, are supporting a group that is motivated by prejudice and fear.
It shocks and saddens me that in 2012, people out there in Australia (including our members of parliament) still have such homophobic views that they insist on imposing on everyone else. It also really annoys me that this happened in Canberra where I live.
Isn't marriage supposed to be about love?
This photo has recently done the facebook rounds, and I think it is a nice, simple message about marriage:
I have friends and family members who are gay. Why should I be allowed to get married, but they cannot?
From a legal perspective, why shouldn't same sex couples get the same legal rights that come with marriage? Yes, in family law, same sex couples now have certain property rights as de facto couples (in most parts of Australia). But to make a de facto property claim, you need to first establish the existence of the de facto relationship as defined by the legislation. If you are married, this additional step is removed. Marriage also has an impact on a number of other areas including superannuation, wills, estate plans, family provision claims, medical decision making power and insurance.
Why shouldn't all couples have the choice either to remain in a de facto relationship or make the commitment to marry, and take on the additional rights and responsibilities that comes with marriage?
Making gay couples unequal under the law only further fosters discrimination.
In 1958, in the context of the fight for black civil rights in America, Martin Luther King Jr declared, “When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom.”
It has been 4 years since our Prime Minister said "sorry" for the hurt caused by discrimination against indigenous people. An apology would not have been needed if such discrimination was avoided in the first place. Parliament House should be a place for righting past wrongs, it should not be used to facilitate ongoing discrimination. Now is the opportunity to remedy this wrong in our legislation.
No comments:
Post a Comment