The national ALP conference is bringing to the table one of the more socially contentious issues - same sex marriage. This is turn has created an abundance of media on the issue.
I usually use the "Post a Comment" section on newspaper websites as a source of light entertainment on my lunch break (let's be honest there are often comedic gems in there) but I can't help but feel enraged by people's opinions on this issue in particular. I am so very proud that I live in a democratic country, where we value the freedom of speech and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but my goodness do people even realise what they are arguing about?
Growing up under the Gen Y umbrella I have been exposed to more social changes than my parents and substantially more than my grandparents. Watching shows like Will and Grace I naively didn't realise how ground breaking it was to have a show where half of the primary characters were openly gay. I didn't blink an eye when Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi proclaimed their love to one another by sharing vision of their wedding with The Ellen Show's millions of viewers. It wasn't outrageous to me when people that I have grown up with, friends or family members announced that they were gay. None of these things bothered me because I was brought up to accept people's personal choices as long as those choices weren't harming anyone. Whilst I realise that as a society we have moved forward in leaps and bounds with our acceptance of the gay community, what I can't comprehend is why there are so many who refuse to allow same sex marriage?
Trolling through the many opinions on the "Post a Comment" section I keep coming across the same arguments against same sex marriage:
- It devalues the sanctity of marriage
- Marriage is to be between a man and woman for family unit purposes
- Gay marriage can't occur because it is not accepted by religious authorities
- I accept same sex relationships, just don't call it marriage
To the first argument I am happy to discuss the current 50% divorce rate of marriages today. But I think the real kicker argument is to turn to the media's favourite toy Kim Kardashian. Need I point out that she just got married (and soon to be divorced) for the second time, the most recent clearly motivated by a multi-million dollar pay cheque and a bag load of publicity (oops sorry Melbourne Cup Carnival - bags come first). Has Ms. Kardashian (formerly Mrs. Damon Thomas soon to be ex-Mrs. Kris Humphries) not devalued the sanctity of marriage?
I am also personally sick and tired of hearing the second argument. Would we as a society revoke the marriage of a heterosexual couple that naturally couldn't reproduce? Not even with the help of IVF? And who is to say that two people who love each, who happen to be the same gender, couldn't provide a stable family life? I have seen plenty of broken homes no thanks to dead beat parents of a heterosexual relationship.
To the third argument - have we forgotten that there is a good portion of marriages that are NOT held at a religious institution? As a heterosexual atheist, does this mean I can't ever be married because I have no intentions of getting married in a religious institution?
And all I will say to the fourth argument is can you see the hypocrisy in what you are saying? We accept you but you can't have what we have.
I understand that I am living in a society where the majority of people are of an ageing population. I also understand that marriage is a personal choice and some people don't see the value of getting married to create a certain status for their relationship. But isn't that a personal choice that we should all have? We need to be open about the fact that people exist in terms of different relationships and at the end of the day love is real and that love should be recognised by the government and the law.