Letters to the editor – Sydney
GREENS RESPOND
Ronnie (Letters, SSO #1066) doesn’t seem to understand that preferences are a matter for each individual voter. You should decide how your preferences flow, not the Greens or any other political party.
Contrary to Ronnie’s claims that the Greens “always ‘give’ their second preference to Labor”, at the recent election the Greens did not recommend voters preference any party in the Upper House, nor did we in almost every Lower House electorate.
Next election, I recommend Ronnie checks the Greens’ how-to-vote cards before writing letters criticising them.
— Cate Faehrmann MLC
Greens sexuality and gender identity spokesperson
NO TO MARRIAGE
I am a gay man. I don’t believe in gay marriage. I don’t believe in straight marriage.
I don’t believe in anyone getting married in this day and age.
It is unrealistic to expect to spend 70+ years of your life with only one person. Plus, over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce.
Why are gay activists all of a sudden so eager to be part of this failed model?
When did the gays rights movement shift from: “We’re proud to be different! Accept our differences!” to “We’re not that different at all! We’re just like straight people!”?
I don’t want to be “just like straight people”. I liked the gay community being “different” and subversive and non-traditional and non-conformist. Now the gay community just wants to mimic traditional heterosexual families with white picket fences and 2.5 kids.
I clearly remember gay university lecturers teaching Queer Theory a decade ago saying, “Marriage is an antiquated, patriarchal institution. We want nothing to do with it.”
Now they say, “We love marriage! Marriage is great!”
When did this cultural shift happen?
Self-appointed gay marriage activists claim to speak on behalf of the whole “gay community” but they sure don’t speak for me or many other gay men I know who want nothing to do marriage.
— Daniel
JAIL PLEA
Spare a thought for all the gays, lesbians and transgenders who are in jail.
It can be a very lonely place for us despite living entirely with our own gender.
The chance to mix with people from our own community can be very limited.
We in jail are commonly viewed as ‘society’s rejects’.
Yes, we have committed a crime and deserve to be where we are.
But as a lesbian in jail I feel isolated from the community which I love so much.
We are doing our time in here but please spare a thought for our loneliness and isolation.
Therefore, I am asking any gays, lesbians and transgenders out there in the community and those in jails everywhere to write to me and perhaps together we can set up a support network for those of us ‘doing time’.
At present the only organisation from our community doing anything for us is MCC Good Shepherd who has set up a group to visit us in jail.
I cannot thank them enough for the immense support and friendship which they have given me. I also thank ACON for sending gay and lesbian magazines to those of us in jail.
Help me so we can help each other.
— Karen Kramer
#372483
Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre
Australia Post Business Centre
Locked Bag 130
Silverwater NSW 1811
DOUBLE STANDARDS?
The GLRL is concerned the O’Farrell Government intends to continue exemptions available to faith-based organisations in the NSW Anti-Discrimination and Adoption Acts, allowing them to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity (‘The lobbying continues’, SSO 1066).
Many of these organisations, of course, are funded by taxpayers and it is this funding that the lobby claims makes the exemptions unfair.
The GLRL fails to mention that our organisations are also funded by taxpayers. Mardi Gras receives grants from Events NSW and Sydney City Council, while ACON receives its funding from NSW Health.
Yet Mardi Gras doesn’t have a single heterosexual on its board, and ACON refuses to declare how much rent MAG, an all-mens social group refusing membership to women, pays for using its rooms.
With the gay community itself discriminating on the basis of sexuality and gender, it is unrealistic for the lobby to expect faith-based organisations to end their discrimination against us.
— Stuart
CORRECTION
Last week’s article ‘Court challenge to marriage ban’ implied that Simon Margan would be the lawyer acting on behalf of a class action against the federal Government. Margan is only a co-complainant and will not be acting as the lawyer for complainants. The case will begin with a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission and from there proceed to the courts.
@William and @Dan, you are entitled to your opinion; but that does not give you the right to impose it on everyone else – that makes you little different to the fundamentalist religious types who aim to impose their belief system on the rest of society.
You may not agree with marriage – in Dan’s case for anyone, straight or gay – but that does not mean that you should prevent those who wish to get married from doing so.
I, too, see no need to get married; but that does not mean that I tell everyone around me that they shouldn’t.
Equality is just that, equality, and until same-sex couples are afforded the same rights as every other member of society we are not equal.
You may not want to get married, and that is your choice, but you should at least aspire to be treated equally by society. Currently you are not.
Finally more letters from gay men against “Gay Marriage” Daniel is right when he says self appointed activists claim to speak on behalf of the community. Like Daniel my partner and I of 20 years strongly disagree with “gay marriage” and this push to make it happen. We are fortunate we are still together after 20 years but we have many gay friends who fall in and out of love (or is it lust) and relationships in sometimes just a few weeks. Move in with the “man of their dreams” to have the whole thing fall to pieces after a few months. Divorce laywers will make a killing if gay marriage becomes realty
Dan,
I respect your belief that marriage is a failed institution and your rejection of it. You are definitely not the only person who feels this way, however understand that there are people who feel differently and it would be a great shame that they would have to go without because you feel the way you do. After all, not a single person who supports gay marriage is suggesting you must get married merely because they wish to.