LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
IT seems that Darren Chester will have his work cut out for him in the coming months, if the hysterical and unfounded vitriol directed at him regarding his revised stance on same sex marriage is anything to go by.
In the interest of full disclosure of personal biases I founded the Facebook group, Gippslanders for Same Sex Marriage when, in 2010, Mr Chester stated he would not support same sex marriage. With over 1000 supporters, it is with deep relief and gratitude that I can now say the page has been rendered obsolete.
What Mr Chester did in reflecting upon his stance was an act of bravery, and deserves commendation. In the years since I moved away from Sale, I will admit I have been less than complimentary of my summations of the town.
The values held by the majority of the population were not in line with my own, so I left and moved to the city where I felt more accepted.
Mine is not a unique story. The exodus of young people from country towns – either because they’re frustrated with how conservative and suffocating the small town mentality can be, or because they’re frightened they’ll be ostracized and bullied for being ‘different’ is all too common a narrative.
If these are the so-called ‘values’ the self-appointed protectors of traditional marriage are trying to shield, then they deserve to be destroyed.
Despite the alluring rhetoric used to disguise prejudice as concern for the welfare of children (this is demonstrably false – see https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/same-sex-parented-families-australia/childrens-wellbeing-same-sex-parented-families), or that it will cause the downfall of the ‘family unit’, all opposition to same sex marriage boils down to an ugly truth that it is borne of intolerance, a lack of compassion, and wilful ignorance.
The only real danger children of same sex couples face is the hatred of those who don’t accept their family.
I have yet to encounter one single argument against marriage equality that is logical, that is based off sound, peer-reviewed scientific evidence, and that is free from religious zealotry.
Instead, I am fronted with prejudicial, hateful speech, some disturbing comparisons to paedophilia and bestiality (of which I will not dignify with a response), slippery slope logical fallacies, and refuting scientific evidence with the maddening phrase ‘it’s just common sense.’
It’s not ‘just common sense.’
It’s bigotry. Plain and simple.
And no, you are not being oppressed. Nobody is campaigning for the eradication of religion. In fact, I would be the first to fight for you me, a reviled queer if someone did try to make Christianity illegal, even though I really can’t stand most of you.
All we are fighting for is equality, not superiority. So stop trying to pull that argument out on us, because it’s rubbish.
If I don’t believe in your God and I don’t, for the record don’t waste your breath telling me how He forbade it in some cherry picked obscure Bible passage.
It’s irrelevant to logical discourse and is tantamount to enforcing a theocracy. You’ll be better served praying for your own forgiveness than mine.
