To call for the murder of people on the basis of their sexuality is simply out of step wtih the community straight or gay.

I have been as frustrated as you about Penny Wong wanting to tear my hair out.

But I have grown to admire Penny Wong. She is of Chinese/Malaysian heritage in a parliament dominated by a culture of white conservative men. Penny is a Christian, goes to church on a regular basis, and gets lectured by her boss who is an Atheist, to look up the lessons in the bible. Penny has been standing up to the Prime Ministers Boss, the Conservative Catholic head of the SDA Union who has promised to bury her politically. Penny has taken insult after insult within the Labor Party and outside of it. She is now copping it about daring to have a child.

It is easy for her to leave the party. Who could blame her if she did? But Penny is standing her ground and fighting for change to free us at great personal cost, and this has made her the subject of many a vitriolic tirade at times. Penny has guts, passion, and so does her partner who also has to put up with Penny being berated, dog whistled by the Liberal Party, and abuses coming from our community. If only all politicians had the same guts and determination as Penny Wong, Labor would rule for a long time.

Penny is trying to save the Labor Party from itself. She it tyring to take it back to its successful roots- the once proud progressive party.

I live in a country area, Penny is a beacon of light to many GLBTI groups. Even straight people have said to me they had no idea she was gay let alone having a baby. My partner of 10 years is of Chinese decent and is a Doctor who works in senior levels of health administration dealing with government, and politicians who are often homophobic, and cultures that go with it. We both understand it is not easy dealing with cultures in senior levels of government being openly gay, and of Chinese decent.

But Penny is doing it in the media glare. Of course she could of come out about Marriage earlier, and I watched Q & A when she said the government line to the hurt of many, including myself. But Penny has come out on Marriage, and even parenting. She is the one now openly arguing for Civil Rights. I do not know why she did not come out earlier. It is easy for you and I to be out. Our partners will not always be the subject to a tirade of death threats from hate groups, we will not be stalked by a Christian nut job, and we will usually not get sacked.

But spare a thought for Penny Wong. In the anti Marriage Rally in Canberra, Bob Katter, Barny the Banana, and a Labor MP, all stood shoulder to shoulder leading an angry mob calling us and in particular Penny Wong, “The Greatest Evil”. They tried to get people to kill Penny and her partner as what else do you do to an Evil worse then Hitler? You did not see Julia Gillard stand up for her senior Minister. Penny was left on her own as usual. Now Penny is a public symbol of Marriage and Parenting, spare a thought for her and her partner, as no doubt she is now also the target of some hater. But despite all this, she is not walking away, she is staying the course, and doing the tough job, and for all these things I admire her.

I can rave on this site, write letters to the editor, call talkback radio and run facebook groups, even dance with my partner at country balls, but all that is nothing compared to the hard work of Penny Wong and her partner. I do not like some of Labor Policies, but that does not stop me from feeling empathy for people like Penny.

Labor asked us to elect a Prime Minister , Mr Rudd. Then Union officials got rid of him without a vote and got the party to rubber stamp it.

Since the last election, Tony Abbott is shouting for us to overthrow the government, calling them illegitimate, while clapping to rallies with coffins with the Prime Ministers name on it. Pushing for the Nanny State, a Dictatorship no less, is not in line with Liberal Values last I checked. But it is power at all cost, no matter who is killed in this political climate of fear. And I am not sure I want Abbott getting us killed over this.

Given the Liberal Party in Victoria has been slashing hospital funding, I could think of a lot better ways to spend 100million dollars, especially given so many polls show not only the majority of Christians support Equality, but also the majority of the Australian population.

We are taken to war many times over, with no referrendum and no person ever seems to ask for one, so I do not think it is needed on something so small as extending equal access to laws to all Australian Tax Payers.

If politicians are being scared of not getting elected, then they need to change their policies.

The push for equality is about allowing all Australians to live equally, no more and no less. I hardly think it is calling for the overthrow of a government, or the carpet bombing of cities in far away lands.

she is a hypocrite !!

Ed: Anthony, Wong has now come out publicly in support of same-sex marriage. See the link below

Labor must quit taking shortcuts and bad excuses that err on the side of doing nothing, otherwise they risk pissing off absolutely everyone.

Labor: have the internal policy debate, make a decision and stand by it.

All this over marriage. I guess it will take another 60 years for Labor to include us in the Federal Equal Opportunity Act, if this is the fuss they create over Marriage.

I will continue voting Green, a party with no issue about my sexuality while Labor has policies that lead to great cruelty for some in the community.