Over time it will make a great and noticeable difference.

Dear Dr Andrew Leigh

So I noticed that in amongst the media storm surrounding the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ in Uganda the Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, had a very interesting thing to say. Although I understand you are aware of his and the Governments stance on the issue I thought I would share this quote with you:

“Australia is a global advocate in support of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and will continue to take opportunities through the United Nations and other channels to urge all governments to end such discrimination.”

As a person who identifies as Queer I should find this quote reassuring, comforting, but I do not. If I were to imagine myself as a queer or non-heterosexual identifying person living overseas, looking to come to Australia I would like to assume this comment would make me feel at ease about coming to this country, but I very much doubt that.

It seems that the Australian Government feels it is ok to talk the talk on the international stage, but when it comes to standing up and walking the walk at home you seem to forget what God gave you legs for. Yes I believe in God, I am in fact Catholic, but what I would like you and your colleagues to understand before you read on is that this is not a discussion based on religion, it is about equality, the right for every human being on this earth to be treated equally.

My name is Frank Gafa and apart from being Catholic I am a First Nation member of the Australian community, I identify as queer and I am living with a disability. All of these facets come together to make me the person that I am, and I would like to think as elected officials that you would not discriminate against me based on any of these facets, but in fact you openly do.

The question of marriage equality in Australia is much more then the right for non-heterosexual identifying people to be able to engage in marriage. It is about societies embedded perception of the other, in this case the others being queers, gays, intersex people, transgender, Bi-sexuals, lesbians and all who do not fit into the perceived norm of heterosexual identity. This perception, of people being immoral, being abnormal, basically being different is made an even easier target by legislation actively saying that these people are not good enough to get married in the eyes of our elected representatives. This fuels the fires of hatred and ignorance which will see many people, young and old, take there lives every day because they feel like an outcast, like they are lesser then others purely based on their sexuality.

Dr Leigh growing up as a First Nation in this country I faced extreme discrimination from my peers about my race. Because of this I could not face two parts of my identity, being queer and living with a disability, because I thought if I did people would hate me even more, and I did not want to lose the only friends I had. My best friend in high school in fact was quite religious and when I decided to come out I was honestly so scared that he would seriously harm or even kill me upon finding out, that I organised to do it at a friends house. Because of the added pressure from society of then being an Indigenous Australian and identifying openly as queer it took me nearly three years to properly accept and get on top of my disability, something that had damaged relationships and caused torment in my life for reasons I could never bring myself to admit to others let alone myself.

Dr Leigh because of discriminatory policy still accepted by your Government, still enforcing the social norm, there are many kids out there who will never be able to admit they are ‘different’. There are kids, even adults who are heterosexual and married out there who are too scared of society, too scared of their mother, father, brother, sister, sibling, their best friend because the Government states that the only relationship that is acceptable enough for marriage is between a man and a women. I can guarantee you that as I write this letter, as you read it, these people are contemplating whether they should lie to themselves to be ‘normal’ or even worse giving up, deciding that this society is not worth being apart of, deciding that life living as the other is not worth it.

I am not saying that giving the right to marry to all citizens in Australia will change all of this, what I am saying is that over time it will make a great and noticeable difference. All I want, all many Australians want is for the Government to live up to their words of being “a global advocate in support of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation”. 

All we want is equality.

Sincerest Regards

Frank Gafa

Come along to the next Rally to show that Labor really does support equal rights.

Dear Andrew Leigh

I recently attended a rally for equal marriage rights here in the ACT.  Rallies just like this one have been occurring monthly in every State and Territory all across Australia. And although the numbers were small compared to others I have attended, I was as always inspired by the convictions of all of the people who were there.  

I cannot imagine what it must be like for many of these young men and women growing up in a society that judges you based on your sexuality and then imposes restrictions on your ability to make life choices because of this. 

I am a unionist and a feminist. I understand firsthand the challenges when fighting for equality in workplaces and in people’s lives.  I am proud and privileged to be part of this campaign for equality and I invite you on their behalves to join with us.

I reckon it would be great if you could come along to the next Rally to show that Labor really does support equal rights.  I strongly urge you to be that messenger.  

The next Rally is not too far away and your support will be another step forward in delivering equality to everyone in our community.

Dr. Leigh, embrace this campaign and support marriage equality.

Dear Dr. Leigh,

Like many other Canberrans I am writing to you in the hopes of influencing your actions in regards to marriage equality, to encourage you to make the right choice.

I am a heterosexual currently in a relationship. If I choose to ask my girlfriend to marry me, she can choose to say yes or no. If she says yes, we can choose where to hold the ceremony: at a church, in a garden, this list goes on. We can choose to invite all of our friends and family to celebrate our love. We are then recognised as a married couple.

Dr. Leigh, you have a choice to make which affects more than you or your wife; you have a choice that affects the lives thousands of Australians.

My gay friends cannot make these choices, which so many Australians take for granted. You can choose to use your office to embrace political engagement from your constituency and to enact political change. I wish that this choice belonged to the people, and it can if you choose to let it.

Please, Dr. Leigh, embrace this campaign and support marriage equality.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Elmitt.

I have never been ashamed of my sexuality

Dear Dr Leigh.

I am twenty years old, I am female, I have lived in Canberra since I was eight and without question consider this my home. When I turned eighteen I was more excited about the prospect of voting, of having my voice heard, than I was about being able to go clubbing in Civic.

 I am political and compassionate. I am optimistic and argumentative and educated. I was raised by wonderful, intelligent, open-minded, progressive parents who told me that I could achieve anything and as such have never let anyone attempt to dissuade me from reaching my goals. I smile at strangers, I believe whole-heartedly that I can and will make a difference in my lifetime.

I am also a queer.

I have never been ashamed of my sexuality, but it is not the sole component of my identity. It is difficult for me to understand how despite everything that I could be defined by, the label of queer is the one that seems to become the most important. Even more frustrating is that it is generally used in the context of telling me that I am not able to do something as simple as have my love for a partner of the same sex recognised as equal to that of the relationships of my heterosexual peers. 

Dr Leigh, I implore you to consider for a moment how you would feel if the Australian government told you that your love for your wife was invalid, that the fact that you are a heterosexual man was the be-all-and-end-all of who you are, that no matter what else you say or do, everything hinged on one tiny facet of your identity. It’s complicated, and confusing, and upsetting, and this is how so many members of your electorate feel every day. 

Yes, I am queer, but it is not all that I am, or all that I will ever be. The gender of those I choose to date, to have sex with, to fall in love with, does not define me, nor does this constitute a valid reason for discrimination against me. 

I’m only twenty years old, and I feel I have so much life to live. I am not going to stop voting or caring about human rights. I am probably not going to stop arguing for the sake of debate or yelling at rallies or figuratively sticking my middle finger up at anyone who ever tries to tell me that I can’t do something because I’m a girl. I will never stop smiling at strangers or singing obnoxiously loudly in my car. I will not stop loving and caring and feeling. I will never stop being queer.  I hope that in my lifetime, the Australian government stops treating my sexuality as the only thing that I am, and recognises my right to express my love for whom ever I choose. 

My peers and I are going to change the world, Dr Leigh. It is up to people like you to help us. 

Emily Bissaker. 

Nothing to lose except bad attitudes!

Dear Dr Leigh,

Last weekend my boyfriend and I made the five hour trip up to Newcastle to attend his cousin’s wedding. It was a simple, traditional ceremony on a bush property that held a special place in the family’s heritage. The rain and the mud and the smell of aeroguard did nothing to detract from the smile on the bride’s face as she made her way down the aisle. It was a beautiful affair.

However, throughout the ceremony it was constantly on my mind that some of my closest friends at this time are unable to take part in a ceremony that holds such great importance in our society. Conservatives often put forward the argument that marriage equality will erode the significance of heterosexual marriage and so-called ‘family values’. The decision to marry is one of the most important decisions an individual can ever make, but how can I enter into and uphold an institution that is so blatantly discriminatory?

Bigoted attitudes continue to tear at the fabric of society, and have even caused division among members of my own family, and the government’s continued opposition to marriage equality is a prime source of these attitudes. Thus, a government committed to ‘family values’ is a government that upholds equality in marriage regardless of orientation.

Please vote for equal marriage rights - there is nothing to lose except bad attitudes!

Yours faithfully,

Rebecca O’Neill

Our parliamentarians are elected to lead us, and not to follow.

Dear Mr Leigh,

I write to you to ask that you do all that is in your power as a parliamentarian, both within the confines of our party and outside of it, to achieve marriage equality in this country as soon as possible.

The present conventional wisdom seems to be that this is merely a matter of time and in the media much fuss is now being made over whether 'Australia is ready' just yet. I hope you will agree that the readiness or otherwise of an ever-dwindling minority of the electorate is entirely besides the point. Our parliamentarians are elected to lead us, and not to follow. As Edmund Burke once said: 'Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.'

Discrimination against LGBTI people within our marriage law may not be the gravest injustice in our society. It is, however, one of very few which can be fixed with a single line of amending legislation and not a cent from the Treasury's coffers. It is an overdue reform, and the moral imperative on the Labor Government to act now should not be abdicated in the name of increasingly dubious arguments of political expediency.

Yours sincerely, 

David Rowe

Marriage is a sacrament.

Dear Andrew Leigh,

Have you taken your marriage to your wife for granted? When you kissed your wife this morning, you probably didn't think about the legal and political connotations of the marriage you two have.

Marriage is a sacrament. It's about two separate individuals, from different families and backgrounds, coming together to become one indivisible entity. It's in the Gospel of Matthew. It's even in "2 Become 1" by Spice Girls, if you will. This coming together may be religious, social, political and legal in nature. In essence, however, marriage is a profoundly personal and spiritual institution. You have yours - now please let others have theirs too.

Lucia Lee