Margaret Court: don’t touch marriage
MARGARET Court has spoken out amid heated backlash after she announced she’d be boycotting Qantas over its support for marriage equality.
“I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage,” Court wrote in a letter to The West Australian newspaper.
In response, many in the LGBTI community and their allies took to social media to vent their frustrations, calling for the famous Margaret Court Arena to be renamed.
In an interview on The Project last night, Court defended her views and stated she and others with similar viewpoints were being bullied for expressing their beliefs.
Host Waleed Aly asked Court what was wrong with the CEO of Qantas expressing support for a position that had overwhelming majority support in Australia.
He added that polling suggested roughly 62 – 64 per cent of Australians were in favour of marriage equality.
“There’s many people in this nation, normal people out there – farmers, mothers, and fathers – even as a young person I agreed that marriage was between a man and a woman,” Court responded.
“I’ve been married for 50 years.
“You have your statistics but our statistics are not like that, and if people read the first two chapters of the Bible they’ll understand why I believe a child should have a mother and a father.”
Court added that both Christians and non-Christians alike who were anti-marriage equality had been intimidated by members of the LGBTI community.
“People have a view, and we’re not allowed to say why we believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” she said.
“I have nothing against homosexual people, they can lead their lives. But don’t touch marriage.
“At the moment it’s like nobody can say anything because we’re getting persecuted, bullied… they’re bullying us to think like them.”
Court then went on to briefly touch on the Safe Schools program.
“A young child is very important, even with this program in the schools,” she said.
“I think you become an “it” or a “we” or a “they”, we need to know the God way also and many children don’t know.”
Tennis champion Casey Dellacqua tweeted out against Court’s comments, saying “enough is enough Margaret”.
Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena has distanced itself from Court’s comments.
“Melbourne & Olympic Parks does not support Margaret Court’s comments and we remain an organisation committed to embracing equality, diversity and inclusion,” they tweeted.
Qantas competitor Virgin has also publicly stated its support for marriage equality.
I doubt Margaret Court has any comprehension of what “Bullying” actually is and I doubt sincerely she has ever had to live the consequences of it, either physically or emotionally. But yet claims she herself is being bullied because of the refusal of LGBT people to continue to subjugate ourselves further. Perhaps she reflect in meditation the Causal link of her predicament. And perhaps with the assistance of her so called Christian faith she may come to the realistation that not only did she intiate an unsolicited political view point, she choose of her own velation protest that political view in a very public manner. If she doesn’t like the response with in media or elsewhere perhaps as a good Christian person she may have considered perhaps retain her thoughts as private ones and protest her objections at the ballot box in an appropriate manner.
She disgusts me frankly, of all the issues, this so called Christian woman thinks to spark public debate over, she chooses gay marriage. An easy and dare I suggest a guaranteed publicity winner for someone looking to widen her congregation of religious zealots.
What a horrendous shame she didn’t apply the same level of venom towards oh I don’t know, say inter religious persecution, human rights abuses against refuges, domestic child abuse, violence and discrimination against woman, aged care atrocities or the evil doings of the so called Holy Roman Catholic Church.
Suck it up Margaret Court – change is a coming lady! and nothing you can say will stop it – by all means though keep shouting from the roofs tops if necessary your ostensibly archaic position, it will only serve to further and indeed hasten the end result of victory for us, as you continue to repulse and offend main stream Australia.
in the words of Stephen Fry – “Its simply not nice”
Jesus, Margaret I am a Christian and you don’t fit anywhere into my world of Christianity. Trashed your legacy my love and with your toxic bigoted attitude, whilst I am always civil, unlike yourself, thank your god that you never get on the same flight as I do, as I would have no choice but to front you an call you a bigot to your face. I really don’t know how you are going to get around, with that “extensive” travel of yours, now that you are not flying Qantas as Virgin support gay marriage as well. So I do hope that zipper frame has wheels dear. You really do give both Christianity and mature age persons a bad name – retire, shut up and re read your bible sister.
The legal definition of marriage has changed in the past from time to time. Our constitutional founders knew this and that’s why they gave the power to the Federal Government to make and change laws regarding marriage. The definition and institution of marriage has changed during the time of Margaret Court’s own marriage when the Whitlam government brought in no-fault divorce in 1975 (a massive change, without a plebiscite as I recall), and again in 2004 when the Marriage Act was most recently amended (without a plebiscite, as I recall).
If you don’t want a same sex marriage, I’d recommend marrying someone of the opposite sex. If, like Margaret Court, you want to tell Australia’s gay community that they can’t have marriage even though it has no impact on you and the best argument you’ve got is “well just because” then I’m calling you a homophobe.
Some of us dont read the bible because we are non-believers in religion…
People like Court state the views they have held all of their lives but don’t acknowledge that society has grown and moved on and that their views are now outdated and do not represent modern Australia and the majority of this population. She is to old to be considered representative of current Australian views as she now only represents about 10% of the population at the age of 74. She also represents a portion of the population that is unaffected by any change made to the marriage act as they will all have had their marriages and lived their lives. I see her comments as coming from someone who is adverse to change and not a forward thinker.
Margaret Court, a “legend”? You’ve got to be joking!
Poor, old Margaret Court!
She doesn’t seem to realise that, other than the very few of her own age group still living and a few tired & very, very old tennis fans, today the vast majority of Australians have never heard of this “Margaret Court” person and even if they had they could not care less about anything she says.
Ah, the famous Christian persecution complex, which is so large it can be seen from the Moon.
No Margaret, we gay people are not persecuting or bullying you; YOU are persecuting and bullying US, by consistently demanding that the government refuse US the exact same marriage rights that YOU enjoy.
You claim that the very definition of marriage is between a man and a woman, and always has been. In this, you are wilfully ignorant.
Many societies have recognised marriage equality for gay people in the past, amongst them the New Zealand Maori. I have personally seen a wakahuia (Maori treasure box) dating from the 18th century that was carved in the form of two male lovers embracing. Wakahuia, by the way, are the treasure repositories of households; so this one belonged to the household of two married Maori men.
The reason you can think this way, Margaret, is simple: as Christianity has spread across the world, it has forcibly stopped such practices, and has then sought to erase all record of them in order to convince people that these things are and always have been forbidden. Which is, of course, an outright lie; as the few surviving and highly revealing relics of such cultures amply demonstrate.
So insisting that marriage is and only ever has been between a man and a woman because your faith says so is not only patently untrue; it’s also historically ridiculous. And insisting that it should always remain so is to insist that the State dictate that the views of your religion on marriage will be enforced as law. And that is a sentiment that can never fly in a secular democracy.