Australia ‘falling behind’
Australia’s marriage equality advocates say Australia is falling further behind other countries following a decision by the Portuguese Parliament to allow same-sex marriage.
Australian Marriage Equality national convener Alex Greenwich said it is embarrassing for Australia to fall behind countries like Portugal.
Portugal (like neighboring Spain, where same-sex marriage is also legal) is considered to be a socially conservative and very Catholic nation, however as Mr. Greenwich points out “despite Portugal’s strong affiliation with the Catholic Church, they have been able to separate ‘Church and State’ in the interest of equality for all, “something we would encourage the Rudd Government to do”.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen same-sex marriages allowed in Argentina, Mexico and now Portugal, all of which highlight how far Australia continues to fall behind on this important human rights issue,” Greenwich said.
“The Rudd Government’s support for discriminatory marriage laws is a source of great embarrassment for many Australians.”
Greenwich said the Portuguese Parliament’s rejection of a proposed civil union scheme highlights why such schemes are not a substitute for full legal equality.
“Civil unions do not provide same-sex couples with the same rights or recognition as equality in marriage,” he said.
Self appointed ‘Gay activist’ Paul Mitchell…for all his failings PM Kevin Rudd is not a communist. He is the leader of a democratically elected government.
with sensible & logical arguments such as the above, WHY AM i still embarrassed about being an Australian gay man? I look at TV shows like The Graeme Norton Show, where a humorous, openly gay man entertains millions, not just a clique audience, and realise the perception of gays & lesbians is and has changed worldwide. When are we going to start not being scared to put our names in public? When am i going to be able to declare my love for my partner legally? When am I going to be treated like a valued citizen by Police rather then as someone part of a special group? C’mon Mr Rudd. We supported you in 2007. Now give us the respect we deserve. Mathew will certainly be getting my vote at the next federal election.
Rik Gebalski.
In 2010 We have a bigot in the house – he is called Kevin Rudd (the Communist).
The issue is not really one of religion, but one if equality. If religion was the deciding factor, same sex marriage would be legal in Anglican Jamaica, but illegal in Catholic Spain, and Calvinist South Africa. In fact, Spain and South Africa have legalized same sex marriage, whereas homosexuals in Jamaica can be imprisoned if they aren’t first murdered by the locals.
Countries that put a high value on equality are likely to have same sex marriage. The other factors are benefit model and political structure. Portugal has a pension system that puts a high emphasis on relationships and marriage regarding the collection of benefits, and so same sex marriage is more critical there than in other countries. Also, Portugal doesn’t make it easy to have referendums, so unlike much of the USA, the public cannot ban same sex marriage.
Gay Marriage is natural, but we are relying on politicians to do the unnatural and give it to us just because it is the right thing to do. That is naive and stupid. The sad facts are Australian Federal Politicians, in the major parties, are often doing what gets them elected and not what is always right for Australia. Gay Marriage is not a major vote turning issue, but it does not have to be.
The Australian Christian Lobby took just three people to form it. They then contacted Church groups. Many did not want anything to do with them. The extreme right of the Christian movement came on board and gave money, lots of it. The original idea of The Australian Christian Lobby was to setup a Christian Group to stop Euthanasia in the Northern Territory. They got a list of marginal seats, and advertised in those or threatened to. It was not rocket science, just the cold reality of votes and where they matter.
Suddenly phone calls were being returned and Ministers in the then Howard Government wanted to talk to them about what could be done. The Australian Christian Lobby gained power.
If we want significant change, we have to stop preaching Gay Marriage to the converted, and go about forming a group that advocates a similar strategy. We should be like Harvey Milk and not concentrate on one issue, but look to issues that affect a broader section of voters. The Australian Christian Lobby did not advertise about God and going to Church, but about broader issues. We could even advertise about the terrible association of politicians with right wing groups, and point out some of the sinister policies of these groups and what the Federal Member is really about. Work Choices is a case in point. The Union movement target many marginal seats with negative advertising educating people about the social impact of work choices.
It does not take a lot of people to bring about Gay Marriage, but we need to be well co-ordinated about where our dollar is spent on this. We have thousands of members of groups devoted to Gay Marriage. We need a political group that can hit Labor or Liberal where it hurts the most, in the marginal seats. Only then will we see real reforms for everyone in our community.
It should go without saying that a person should be allowed to marry whomever they choose. Until the right-wing, religious fanatics in this country stop trying to control everybody else and force their “morals” down the throat of the country, there can be no real freedom in the United States. Civil rights cannot simply be “voted away,” that is the purpose of the Bill of Rights. Religious activists should be left out of these decisions completely. I invite you to my web pages devoted to raising awareness on this puritan attack on our freedom: http://freethegods.blogspot.com/2009/06/san-franciscos-gay-pride-parade.html