A golden opportunity...

Andrew Leigh

I’ve never written a letter to a politician before. But this is an unfortunate fact that can only really be rectified by somewhat awkward letter such as this one. 

I do not yet consider myself a Canberran, I did not grow up here and I haven’t even been living here for a year, but I do consider this my home. When I first moved here from Melbourne I couldn’t really understand why people talked about politics so much and knew all the names, factions, and policy’s of various politicians. I thought to myself that living in the nations capital sure does give people an over-inflated sense of Australian politics. But it turns out this is where I was wrong. 

My wrongness having only been recently revealed to me I am not yet able to reel off politicians names and factions or intelligently comment on the days parliamentary proceedings. But what I can say as a member of your electorate I would like to see you, as my representative support gay marriage come the ALP’s national conference later this year. Discrimination on the basis of sexuality is unjustifiable in any context. As a lesbian, this kind of state supported discrimination affects my life in ways which go far beyond the fact that I cannot get married. Legalisation of gay marriage, or as I like to call it ‘marriage’ because frankly I’d rather that everything I do was not defined by my sexuality, would be a large step in the right direction to minimising the discrimination I and my community continually face.  

As a child growing up, socialised as a female, I read stories, romantic silly stories about princesses and princes, about weddings and families. And although now I am able to deconstruct many of these notions, there is absolutely no excuse in a society such as Australia which prides itself on its freedoms, for the law to continue to define marriage and adoption laws with the simplicity and didacticism of a children’s fantasy—a fantasy that is based on obsolete and racist assumptions of a universal white Christian, heterosexual norm. 

I am well aware and joyful about the freedoms I am able to experience in Australia to live my sexuality openly in all areas of my life. But these, great though they are compared to the difficulties faced by my comrades in other countries, are in many ways totally dependent on isolating oneself to inner-city pockets and left-wing circles. The first time I walked down the street in Canberra holding hands with a girl I was yelled at, something that had never happened to me in my life in Melbourne, which itself was rather segregated. Though individual instances of discrimination and bigotry are beyond the reach of government removing state-sponsored legal discrimination would go a long way in the raising of a generation of children whose homophobia is not state supported. The ALP has the golden opportunity of adopting gay marriage as part of their party policy later this year. I as your constituent ask you to consider my voice when voting or talking to these issues. 

Thank You

Annie McCarthy