Support Marriage Equality!

Dear Andrew Leigh MP,

I write to you in the hope that you will actively support the fight for marriage equality. As far as LGBTIQ-identifying people go, I believe that marriage equality is one of the final frontiers for recognition of LGBTIQ people as members and equals in society, as it finally provides the legal backing and social equality from this country that everyone deserves.

Here is why;

History is proof as to how much law affects the way in which people think and act. In the past, previously accepted forms of discrimination justified by law such as segregation have since disappeared thanks to a number of leaders acting in a forward and progressive way. At the times of discriminatory laws such as apartheid and segregation, discrimination from everyday ‘normal’ people against those affected by these laws was undoubtedly far more rampant , cruel and normal than it is today. After the removal of these laws, and treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination(UN, 1966) the integration of cultures in these countries has become far more extensive – that is, people have become less racist. If for no other reason, the acceptance of groups into society is what is the aim of any equality proposition. I believe that segregation is an accurate analogy as to the issue of LGBTIQ people in our society.

LGBTIQ-identifying people are still discriminated against by Australian law, and this inherently identifies to ‘normal’ people that there is a difference, or segregation between themselves and the LGBTIQ-identifying. It is hard to expect society not to discriminate a group, when the very laws they live by discriminate that same group. Marriage equality is extremely important for this reason, yet same-sex marriages and all are still illegal in Australia.

I look forward to an Australia where being different in a way that does not define your character will not be an issue. I look forward to an Australia where young people do not have to worry about ‘coming out’ due to the way people will judge them, or how it will affect their lives (I for one will not be able to get the same benefits as heterosexual couples). I look forward to an Australia that is not discriminatory to it’s own members either by law or by society. I look forward to an Australia that will look back on these days the same way that we look back on segregation and apartheid.

Regards,

Daniel Fox