There are so many countries doing better than us...

Ms Brodtmann, 




Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, South Africa......

 
SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!!! A country in which Australia (in general) continues to perceive as backwards and racist due to past atrocities. A country, which along with the previous mentions has taken the progressive step to grant a basic human right. THE RIGHT TO BE A MISERABLE SOD! I'm sorry i meant the right to be legally married. 

Some of my friends and my family may question why i am writing this letter, seeing as my own views on marriage are not exactly positive. I see marriage for what it was back in the day, a legal document that allowed a man to 'own' a woman. That she was a piece of property and that anything she owned was not now hers, or 'ours', but his. I am aware that this is not the case now, but fail to see how being legally married is a be all and end all meter-level on my relationship...but back to the point. 

Of course in this new day and age marriage is supposedly all about a "loving commitment" or a "union between two people in love", yada yada yada...excuse me while I throw up in a bucket. It has also been described as "just a piece of paper" by many including myself, so why is it that as a country that (legally) believes itself to be progressive and accepting of all humans regardless of race, religion or sexuality (haha), we still don't allow gay/lesbian couples to marry. 

The reason I am writing this letter is not because I support the institution of marriage as such, but because I believe in basic human rights, equality and fairness to all. For me it's about the choice that all people should have a right to. You see I have that choice as a young STRAIGHT woman, in fact I could meet some random guy, marry him within 6 months, then divorce him in mere seconds (okay slight exaggeration) cause guess what- he's an arsehole. Yep I can do that! I could also marry a man purely for his money, break his heart and run off with his millions. Yep I'm legally allowed to be a total bitch, YAY ME! 

However a friend of mine who has been in a loving, committed relationship for years can not, simply because she is in love with another woman. 

God you know that sounds a lot like "not being paid the same rate of pay for the same work simply because she has boobs and a vagina"...hmmm not so long ago was it...    
 
A fact that is really concerning is that this country is able to legalise transsexual marriage, but not gay/lesbian marriage. (Re: Kevin and Jennifer  http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/family_ct/2003/94.html)
How incredibly brilliant, a landmark case that is considered one of the great wins for human rights, and a decision that was soon followed by many countries around the world. Go Australia!
and yet we still can't legalise gay marriage...riiiiiiiiiiiiight. 
 
"Australia is a Christian country, and therefore should follow Christian values!!"
 
Some may cry, however since when was the Vatican, or the Church of England or any religious body Jewish/Islamic/Hindu etc running the country? I thought the Australian Government was. (Okay point taken that The Queen is head of the Church of England. At least the UK has civil-union laws; only certain parts of Australia do) Look if the Church doesn't want gay marriage then that is their choice. Religion is a choice, and we value and recognise all religions in this country, but you don't need to marry in a church to be legally married. 

Thanks to civil marriage law, even a heathen hell-wanting atheist like myself can get married, cause I'm straight! And yet a wonderful good christian who believes God loves them for who they are can't. But this is not my point. 

The Government is there to provide services to the Australian people, the working, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens of this country, regardless of faith. We provide abortion services, even though the christian faith is against it. Why? Because it's a woman's right to CHOOSE, again a basic human right. We provide organ donations even though certain religions are against it, but we respect their right to choose that decision. Another human right; to practise ones religion without judgement. We also allow divorce, again, against the christian faith. So much for 'til death do us part'. 
 
"It will devaluate marriage! Marriage is between a man and a woman!" 
 
 I'm pretty sure my TWICE divorced mother has devalued marriage just as much as any gay or lesbian could. (Sorry Mum but it's true) 

Seeing as around every third marriage in Australia ends in divorce, and around 30% of people never get married anyway (though that figure could definitely drop, hint hint), I'm pretty sure the straights are already doing a damned good job at devaluing marriage anyway.
Oh and also a male rapist and a child-killing woman can get married, but two law abiding gay or lesbian citizens cannot. Just saying...
 
"Most of Australia does not want gay marriage."
 
Utter crap. Galaxy polls have shown that as many as 62% percent of Australians support gay marriage. There was also an AC Nielsen poll during the Howard government which showed that only 34% were opposed to gay marriage. A recent poll held in late 2010 showed 57% supported gay marriage  http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australians-back-gay-marriage--poll-20101122-182rc.html. 

You know when it comes down to it supporting gay marriage might get the political party who recognises it first, some votes seeing as MOST of the country SUPPORTS it.
 
In other words, it's time to GROW UP AUSTRALIA. It's time to stop talking about abolishing discrimination and start actually doing something. It's time for us to stand up and show the world that we really are one of the greatest, forward thinking countries in the world, and we are not stuck in our sexist, racist and homophobic past. 
 
Simply, it's time to do what is right. Equality and fairness to all, regardless of sexuality, race or gender. 
 
Regards,
 
J. Hinton