Letters – Melbourne issue 130
NO TO MARRIAGE
I am a gay man. I don鈥檛 believe in gay marriage. I don鈥檛 believe in straight marriage. I don鈥檛 believe in anyone getting married.
It is unrealistic to expect to spend 70+ years of your life with only one person. Plus, more than half of all marriages end in divorce.
Why are gay activists all of a sudden so eager to be part of this failed model? When did the gay rights movement shift from 鈥榃e鈥檙e proud to be different! Accept our differences!鈥� to 鈥榃e鈥檙e not that different at all! We鈥檙e just like straight people鈥�?
I liked the gay community being non-traditional and non-conformist. Now it wants to mimic traditional heterosexual families.
I remember gay university lecturers teaching Queer Theory a decade ago saying, 鈥淢arriage is an antiquated, patriarchal institution. We want nothing to do with it.鈥� Now they say, 鈥淲e love marriage! Marriage is great!鈥� When did this cultural shift happen?
Self-appointed gay marriage activists claim to speak on behalf of the whole gay community but they don鈥檛 speak for me or many other gay men I know.
鈥� Daniel
ADAM HOOD
I am a gay psychologist who has had a great deal to do with this situation. It makes sense that it went 鈥榰nderground鈥� and for me this felt quite OK. As they say in their article, it was contained to a small congregation. We are not vigilantes and against freedom of speech.
The great victory we as a community had with this issue was that it was no longer a public meeting where many new vulnerable people would be exposed to this irrational, anti-intellectual and psychologically dangerous message.
Other great victories included the Catholic school that originally was going to unwittingly sponsor this event saying on their website they are not homophobic and Adam Hood鈥檚 message is against their Christian values. Any young Christian same-sex attracted person would feel great comfort reading this.
The other victory was that very publicly two mayors shut down the events as they hadn鈥檛 realised what it was about. This has sent a powerful message that Australian society as a whole does not validate horrifically dangerous and homophobic events.
鈥� Paul
Fine Daniel, don’t get married. If someone asks you, just say “no”. For those of us who would like to have our relationships legally recognised in support of the many legally binding decisions we make as de-facto couples, and for those who just want to frock-up and say “I do”, marriage is a right we demand. No-one’s forcing anyone to say “Till Death Do Us Part” – you seem to have a pre-modern concept of marriage matey … it ‘aint all doom and gloom … but I forgot, you don’t want it. We hear you, loud and clear. You don’t want it. Fine. No problem. Me? “I do”, so move out of the way please.