It was wishful thinking to believe Opposition leader Tony Abbott would shift his views on same-sex marriage following the (public) news his sister, Christine Forster, is in a same-sex relationship.
Shortly after the story broke, he stamped on any suggestion he or the Coalition may soften their position. His excuse was pretty neat 鈥� because we said so 鈥� but for how long does this line cover for the fact that his stance directly denies his sibling the right to marry the person she loves?
Abbott鈥檚 response certainly doesn鈥檛 come as a shock. It was only two years ago he said in a television interview he was 鈥渢hreatened鈥� by homosexuality, later apologising for his poor choice of words. Forster鈥檚 outing on the weekend reveals that at that time, he was already well aware of his sister鈥檚 sexuality.
Part of the frustration felt with Abbott鈥檚 stance on same-sex marriage particularly is that he never really offers much in the way of the actual reasons he is opposed to change, just that he is.
Perhaps he鈥檚 decided being open about the fact that his Catholic faith plays a part would not go down well in the electorate.
Elsewhere we hear many stories of parents or family members who鈥檝e overcome anti-gay views when their children tell them they are gay. Suddenly the situation is real and the victim of discrimination has a familiar face.
It鈥檚 often said the private citizen holds different views from the public politician. In Abbott鈥檚 case, I鈥檝e no doubt (unlike other political leaders) his opposition to marriage eqaualty is real.
Sometimes, no matter what the circumstances, you can鈥檛 convince everyone.
Transformation is possible. Former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett鈥檚 recent turnaround on gay issues as chair of beyondblue is one such example. I hope I鈥檓 proven wrong, but it鈥檚 unlikely we鈥檒l ever see the same with Abbott as long as he leads the Coalition.
Perhaps down the track we鈥檒l see Abbott mirror the moves of former US vice president Dick Cheney, who has a lesbian daughter. Once Cheney was safely out of the White House, he put his weight behind the same-sex marriage cause.
This is of little help to those who want change now. Whether Abbott changes his mind on marriage or not, it certainly won鈥檛 be the last time he will have to justify his position. Nor should it be.
Bill/Brendan, don’t you think he was just the teeniest bit cute in his budgy-smugglers?
Unfortunately, people like Tony Abbott and Bob Katter make it very easy for your average citizen to take exactly the same “I’m-threatened-by-homosexuals” position, also without any sort of rational consideration or reasoning.
At least Christian Democrat Peter Madden has reasons, even if they are hopelessly, hideously ill-informed.
That’s stupid, Abbot is no more gay than I have ever been straight. He’s just toe-ing the party line like Julia
Abbott’s not gay, but he does have an obsession with men: himself. He’s the love of his life.
Abbottt will never change his mind because he’s in denial of his own homosexuality. Allowing gay people dignity would be an admission of this.