By Lewis Dowell
The Queensland Labor state conference overwhelming passed a motion for federal Labor to legalise gay marriage over the weekend, putting extra pressure on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to act on the issue.
Julia Gillard should feel pressure to legalise gay marriage, but should feel it from all of us who believe in the quality of Australia’s equal rights. There would be no social or economic consequences to legalising gay marriage and I happily make the generalisation that those opposed to it, do so because of homophobic views. You may disguise your homophobic views by listing arguments over the sanctity and tradition of marriage, even religious views on marriage, but it is still homophobia.
There seems to be an underlying fear that the more socially acceptable you make homosexuality, the more homosexuals there will be. As if it is a choice and people are choosing to be heterosexual because we get to marry each other.
As long as Julia Gillard and the federal government do not legalise gay marriage, they should be viewed as a homophobic and discriminatory government. They of course spout they are not, and argue on the basis of traditional marriage (between a man and woman) but their views and policies can only be seen as discrimination. And if the laws and rules of marriage exclude homosexuals, than marriage it self discriminates against homosexuals and shouldn’t be tolerated by the public.
But maybe Julia Gillard isn’t homophobic but just thinks we all are and so has deemed gay marriage as so unpopular that she would be immediately kick out of parliament if she supported it. This could be true as no doubt people are very concerned about homosexuals, marriage and also homosexuals parenting children.
The concern people have with homosexuals parenting children seems to be that the child will be adversely effected emotionally, psychologically and socially by having same sex parents. As all of us are emotionally, psychologically and socially effected by our parents, often adversely, I think this should be obvious.
And no doubt will be some research or study out there that claims these adverse effects, but to me, arguing who and who isn’t allowed to parent children gets you into extremely dangerous territory. We saw it with the stolen generation, where it was thought taking Aboriginal children away from their parents and giving them to white families was the right thing to do. Obviously this is different as children aren’t being taken away from same sex couples, but it is still dangerous to draw the line as to who you think is fit to parent children.
If you were to have any argument over why gay people shouldn’t be able to have children, then surely you would have to apply the same rules to any couple. Any couple straight or gay, who could potentially have adverse effects on the child’s future livelihood by the same rule shouldn’t be able to have children as well.
The government condemns homophobia but supports homophobic views but maintain archaic legislations against homosexuals. Lets hope that Julia Gillard hears the call from state Labor parties, and finally does the right thing and legalises gay marriage. If marriage is truly the cornerstone of love and society, it should be afforded to all those in Australia. Not just those of a particular sexuality.
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