In Australia, the lucky country, same-sex marriage is currently illegal. The reason I am writing this post is because we seem to have a government and politicians who do not want to act as elected officials. I, as a voter, want my elected official to make decisions on my behalf and do their job.
Postal Plebiscite
Currently, the government has decided to spend $122 million on a voluntary postal plebiscite to determine whether we, the people, want them to have a vote on same-sex marriage in the parliament. What a huge waste of money on something that should be the right of any human being. Who are we to decide who a person can marry? It is illegal to discriminate against another person based on their race, religion or sexuality, yet we still have archaic laws such as this that prohibit a person from choosing who they can marry.
My strong beliefs originate from my upbringing. As a young boy, growing up in Tasmania, I was exposed to very strong racist and homophobic views. There was only one Asian family at my high school and Yung was my friend. However, due to the views of families and that fact that Yung was different, he was subjected to daily bullying and tormenting from many narrow-minded people in my home town. To say I was involved in some scuffles around this would be an understatement.
I remember when it was illegal to be homosexual in Tasmania. Splashed across the news were the images of men and women being locked up for openly flaunting their sexuality, which they should be able to do. It took many years of lobbying, and pressure from the Federal government to enact change. Yet the homophobic views are still deeply embedded in many communities across the state.
It is time to remove out-dated laws.
One such law in Tasmania, still requires for your horse to be fed and a table provided should you stay overnight at a hotel in the state. To test this law, I had a friend ride his horse to the local hotel and demand they feed and house his horse for the night. Luckily for them, they were a small country pub and still had old stables out the back in which the horse could stay.
I find it very difficult, that in this day and age, where we want our children to be welcoming and kind-hearted people, that we still are debating something that should be a for-gone conclusion. If I am free to marry the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, why shouldn’t someone be able to marry a person of the same sex?
I am a very patriotic Aussie who loves my country and everything it stands for. Unfortunately, these are the types of things that make me embarrassed to be an Australian. The fact that some homophobic and racist views within a community can scare a government into seeking the communities approval to even think about voting on same-sex marriage is unbelievable for a westernised country today. You were elected to do a job. Open the floor for a conscious vote, vote in line with the wishes of the people of your electorate and do the job you are paid for. Stop wasting the hard-earnt money of taxpayers.
Lets show the world that we have moved on from the bigoted views and policies of the past and can accept our citizens for who they are and wish to be.
