Letters to the Editor

On behalf of everyone at MCC Sydney, I would like to thank everyone who came to our 2009 Christmas Eve Carols service at the Marrickville Town Hall.
As pastor it is always humbling to see the support this church has from the community, and to look out over a packed town hall with over 500 people in attendance was inspirational.
Thank you to the Hon Michael Kirby for your message of hope and to all who helped, performed and took part.
It really struck me on Christmas Eve that we are such a wonderfully diverse community and how there is so much good that can be done if we work together, honouring and accepting one another, even if we don’t quite understand those around us!
Christmas Eve was a time of coming together in the love of God and Jesus Christ, and I hope it was as special for all who attended as it was for me.
My prayers and blessings to all for 2010 and know you are always welcome at MCC Sydney.
— Rev Gavin Ward, MCC Sydney
HOLD HANDS
When a few thousand people protested across Australia for marriage equality, our politicians easily ignored our pleas. They ignored us again when we wrote in our thousands to their Senate inquiry on marriage equality. And they’ll continue to ignore us so long as they believe we pose no danger to their electoral success.
If same-sex couples held hands when going to vote at the next election, our politicians might just listen to us a little bit more. It’s our democracy too! We just need to let them know that.
— David
SHAME, SHAME
Shame, Star, shame! Surely you were not so desperate to fill a two-page spread of congratulation letters to celebrate your 1000th issue, that you stooped so low as to publish letters from the likes of Malcolm Turnbull and Nathan Rees.
While these politicians have recently fallen from the leadership of their respective parties, please tell me why you would pollute your celebratory issue with their meaningless words.
How quickly we forget these people are in positions in which they could support our community. Positions of power where they could put GLBT issues on the table — but they chose to hide in their conservative little worlds and won’t stand up for the basic human rights that our community continues to be denied such as marriage. These politicians provide nothing but lip service to our community, propaganda that should not be published by a reputable GLBT paper.
Star, you call yourself ‘Australia’s leading gay and lesbian newspaper’ —  start behaving like it!
— Sarah
DEMEANING LABEL
Why do some folks insist on treating people in the LGBT community as they though are totally alienated from the mainstream?
Mr Young’s column spruiking gaming to gays [SSO 1000] seemed to suggest that no queer person, by that fact alone, would be a gamer. I’ve been enamoured of video games since I was very young and to my mind, that part of my personality never comes in contact with my sexuality. In fact, the label ‘gaymer’ is just demeaning.
People are people and to look at something like gaming through a sexuality lens which segregates players and marks difference sounds a little stupid to me.
— Adam
TERRIFIC PLAY
Four of us went to watch Parkie at the Tap Gallery. It was terrific. It explores some excellent themes.
The lead and one of the producers, Nathaniel Scotcher, has a passion for his role/job that was palpable and amazing. And the others supported really well. The result was gritty, dank and intense.
— Ian
DISCRIMINATION
How can the queer community claim discrimination when we discriminate ourselves? (‘Keneally evasive on reform’, SSO 1001)
Both CAAH and the GLRL say current exemptions for religious groups are unfair, yet they fail to mention that our organisations exclude straights and that our social groups refuse members of the opposite sex. We’re no better!
— Stuart
ARROGANT
Thanks for your piece on Kristina Keneally, reminding us just how little the ALP values our rights.
Only the most arrogant politician would have the hide to tell SSO that she thinks it’s fine for religious institutions to discriminate against people because of their sexuality.
She says they “should be allowed to operate in accordance with their religious beliefs” as if we are trying to infringe their rights, not vice versa.
No matter how nice your local ALP or Liberal member may seem, or how much lip service they pay to equality, ultimately they’ll be falling into line with the likes of Keneally and O’Farrell.
— Tony