Page 5462 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 November 2011
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now permit same-sex marriage—Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and recently New York State added itself to that list. The District of Columbia and Washington DC also permit same-sex marriage. Additionally, Maryland and Rhode Island officially pledged to honour out-of-state same-sex marriages. Mexico City has legalised same-sex marriage, and there are numerous proposals for changes in parliaments all over the world. There is no shortage of same-sex married couples across the world, and the only thing that has happened to the institution of marriage is that, in some places, it is a more inclusive institution than it previously was.
At the height of this issue is a very simple question of values: is it okay for the laws to discriminate against same-sex couples or is not? The Greens very much believe that it is not okay to discriminate against same-sex couples and that the law should recognise their relationship just as it recognises the relationship of other couples. Not only is this the view of the Greens but it is the view of the majority of Australians, and Mr Rattenbury has touched on some statistics, as has Mr Barr. A Newspoll survey in November 2010 found 65 per cent of respondents had no problem with allowing same-sex marriages. A Westpoll survey from December 2010 shows 62 per cent support in Western Australia. National Nielsen surveys in November 2010 showed support at 57 per cent and in March 2011, 62 per cent.
I have no doubt that these survey results will be replicated in the ACT, and I have no doubt that the vast majority of Canberrans support marriage equality. We are a progressive community and a community that does not want to discriminate against people, a community that recognises that people should be free to choose who they want to share their lives with and that we have no place and no right to tell them that their relationship is any less valid or deserves any less recognition than others.
There really is not much else to say about the issue. Everyone has a right to love whoever they choose and, equally, they have the right not to be discriminated against because of that choice. The argument is that the community is not ready for the change, and I disagree. I think those who do not support it are not ready, but that the majority of Australians and the vast majority of Canberrans are. I have no doubt that, once the change is made, everyone will see just how ready the community is.
I would like to draw to members’ attention an article that I came across published by Forbes magazine in the wake of the change to the New York state marriage laws, and it is titled, “What to do now if you oppose same-sex marriage”. It asks those opposed to it to reflect on their views and why they hold them. The article says:
It’s time to empathize rather than to ostracize, time to imagine what it feels like to be a good person with love in his or her heart who simply wants to spend their life married to someone they love. If you deploy just a little empathy you’ll soon see how fundamentally correct was the decision.
I also ask those opposed to this to do the same thing and think about why they want to tell all the loving, same-sex couples in our community that they are somehow lesser and should not be able to marry and why they should not be able to have their day in the sunshine and make the same formal commitment to the person they love.
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