"Senate Rejects Gay Marriage": A reassuringly sane day, as men and women from all parties (except the Greens) spoke the simple truth about what marriage is - this greatest social institution built on the most solid biological foundation - and why, for the sake of the love between mother, father and child, it must not be tinkered with.
Overall, the combined vote of the House and the Senate was more than a 2 to 1 majority!!
HR 98 no 42 yes
Sen 41 no 26 yes
Total 139 no 68 yes
Now our bounden duty to write a brief handwritten note to those MPs and Senators we have some relationship with, and to some of those we do not know, to ENCOURAGE AND THANK THEM! Watch for an email from AMF giving you the details for this vital 'final act' to the drama we have been through... bearing in mind that it is likely to raise its ugly head again in the federal Parliament, and out MPs and Senators need to know NOW that their stand was appreciated.
A quick browse of today's speeches, and these stand out for their clarity and decency:
Senator Ursula Stephens (Labor NSW) HERE
Marriage has a place in the law because a relationship between a man and a woman is the kind of relationship that may produce children. That is why marriage is linked to children; it is for the sake of children, protecting their identity and their care by their parents. The state would have no interest in the permanence and exclusivity of marriage if it were not for the fact that marriage may produce children.
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Senator Matthias Cormann (Lib WA) HERE
It is the institution in our society which provides the framework for the creation and nurture of children. I want to place on record that I support the view that children deserve to have the opportunity, all other things being equal, to grow up with both a mother and a father.
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Senator John Hogg (Labor Qld) HERE
Marriage is a specific relationship between a man and a woman that cannot be replicated, mimicked nor aped by trying to redefine some other form of relationship as marriage.
I am somewhat appalled at the prospect, if the bill were to be passed, of religious schools and institutions who do not subscribe to the alternative definition being the subject of vilification because they do not want to act contrary to their own beliefs. This transgresses the boundary of reasonableness and tolerance in a pluralist society. Whilst the sop from the proponents of the bill is to exempt ministers of religion from performing a marriage as defined under their bill, it does nothing to protect the extensive network of schools and institutions run by religious organisations to uphold their own values within the institutions without being subject to legal action and further legislation which conflicts with their mores.
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Senator John Madigan (DLP Vic) HERE
While the situation of individual marriages may not always be ideal, children have the best opportunities when they are raised by married biological parents. Yes, there are numerous examples of childless marriages or marriages that end in separation as well as the numerous single parent families in our society today. However, none of these started with the premise that a child would be conceived, be born and grow in the absence of one or both biological parents. The same cannot be said for same-sex relationships. Same-sex relationships undermine the rights of the child to know its biological identity and to form relationships with its biological parents. They deny a child the right to know its mother and its father...
Same-sex unions are far from being the sole contributors to the phenomenon of surrogacy, but the legalisation of same-sex marriage will almost inevitably increase the recourse to surrogacy. Surrogacy is another means of denying the child its rights to its biological, cultural and social heritage.
Senator David Fawcett (Lib SA) HERE
The other principle that I wish to just briefly mention is the important principle of freedom of speech...
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I think Australia is a poorer place for some of the outcomes we have seen, particularly with a situation like that of Victoria's Deputy Chief Psychiatrist, Mr George, who, along with 150 other doctors, took part in a Senate inquiry advising that children do better with a mum and dad. There is research that supports that, and some would argue that there is research that does not. But the reality is that that was his view. The fact that he was forced out of his position on the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission and threatened with dismissal from his academic and medical posts is, I think, a sad reflection on the direction that free speech is being taken in Australia.
I think it is important that people do respect others and their rights to express a point of view. I would certainly encourage that with any future debate that occurs on any topic--whether it be one such as this or topics around policy or religion or other issues—people are free to speak their point of view without being shouted down or howled down in an unreasonable manner. I will not be supporting the bill.
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See full list of Senate speeches HERE
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