Dear Dr Leigh,
To tell you the truth: the reason I found it so hard to come to terms with my sexuality was because I knew it meant I could expect to be marginalised for the rest of my life. I knew it would change the way I was regarded not just by my friends and family, but by the legal system and the wider community. It meant that any homophobe could suddenly weigh in on what I could and couldn’t do with my life. Please don’t underestimate how bad it is to know, even as a seventeen-year-old, that rights to adopt and marry can be so easily denied to you because of the moral objections of people who the law privileges.
The equal marriage debate is a terrible one. It’s been an outlet for homophobic chauvinism, sometimes virulent, sometimes insidious. So few have been so vocal in their opposition to equal marriage, and to the principles of tolerance, secularism and plurality, that it would seem as though there is genuinely an even split between supporters and opponents. I’m sure you’re familiar with the surveys which have shown otherwise. Please, don’t let the party be swayed by a hateful few. The ALP needs to live up to some of its core principles – justice, compassion and progress – and not continue down this awful path of pandering to retrograde religious values and xenophobia for the sake of seats it’s never been able to hold. The practical value that equal marriage will have is enormous, and it will support the wellbeing of all non-heterosexuals, whether they’re out or not. Please help make marriage inequality an anachronism.
Regards
Penelope Rumble
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