Australians, do you live in the electorate of Gippsland? Please write to your federal MP, and tell him your thoughts on gay marriage (and that he's wrong), because:
Mr Chester says he speaks to Gippsland residents regularly and there is little support for gay marriage in the region.at the abc
"I don't need to do a survey to get a sense of where my community sits right now," he said.
"Like everyone, I've had emails and they are probably evenly divided. The ones within my community haven't been evenly divided. They've been quite strongly against the position of gay marriage.
"My community is one where I believe that I have a good sense of what it expects me to do and it expects me to stand up for the tradition of marriage as it stands today."
A lot of people were upset by Penny Wong's apparent hypocrisy, what with her being gay and yet still toeing the party line, talking about how marriage is between a man and a woman, so it was intriguing to read in this article that maybe she was, in fact, part of some secret deal-making to set a timetable within the ALP for talking about/advancing the issue, and so her words were just a placeholder until she could effect change within the party. Certainly I am predisposed to always want to think better of her (like me, she is a queer Chinese-Malaysian and I one day want to be in parliament so we shall see), but it's an interesting thing to think about.
Yesterday there was lots of commentary (at least on twitter) about an opinion piece up at the Herald Sun that didn't make everyone really angry: Time for gay marriage to get the nod in Australia. It's not a bad read, and I wonder how much of the discourse has been about people having to say why they don't support it. And also, if supportive pieces are getting published in the Herald Sun, then surely it is obviously time for legislation to catch up.
More ridiculousness, also yesterday, an excerpt from Hansard, pg 97, of Phillip Ruddock's chatter in parliament:
All [the Marriage Act] does is recognise that marriage has always been seen to be different and that that basis ought to be kept, primarily because marriage deals with issues that arise when children can possibly be conceived.People who cannot marry under this definition: Some people with disabilities. People who have gone through menopause. What about people who will have trouble conceiving, but could potentially conceive, but might be best if it was done with assistance like IVF? People who choose not to have children. People whose circumstances mean they can't have children. People for whom giving birth might cause severe injury. People who are infertile.
h/t to danni for finding the right page in Hansard and reading through Ruddock's rant.
I'm gay and I'm from Gippsland!
ReplyDeleteDear Phillip Ruddock,
As soon as your wife goes through menopause, I expect the two of you to immediately divorce, as children can no longer be conceived and thus the "different" status is no longer relevant. (This also applies should you or your wife at any stage fall into the other categories helpfully described in this post.)
Yours,
Someone who can't marry their partner and wouldn't choose to have kids anyway.
"And also, if supportive pieces are getting published in the Herald Sun, then surely it is obviously time for legislation to catch up. "
ReplyDeleteAmen to that. And wow, really? Go Herald Sun.